What We Have Is Never Ending
by flowerrrs25
Summary: A few years later, Austin and Ally will finally come full circle. A collection of connected moments on Austin and Ally's journey to the top. Ally-centric. Auslly.
1. We Started As Friends

Summary: A few years later, Austin and Ally finally come full circle. Ally-centric. Auslly.

Disclaimer: Austin and Ally is not mine.

Warnings: AU in the sense that the story ignores the season two Auslly arc and Ally's not quite completely over her stage fright yet.

A/N: This is going to be a looong one.

* * *

Ally stands very still backstage, eyes closed, silently willing herself not to hyperventilate or throw up or faint. She tries to distract herself by thinking about something, anything else than what she's about to do in less than five minutes but finds herself oddly fixated on one distinct memory.

Sonic Boom, when they were fifteen. Sometimes she can't believe it's been more than eight years since the day that Austin Moon had crashed his way into her neat, ordered life, with two corndogs, the accidental theft of her song, and the inadvertent destruction of a talk show television set.

Her eyes are still squeezed shut, and she is taking slow, deliberate breaths, but there's a small smile on her face as she thinks about those days.

She hears the song ending and takes another deep breath, feeling her stomach twist painfully. She forces herself to open her eyes and sees Austin on stage, holding a guitar and talking to the sold-out theater.

"And now, we're going to change it up a little. I'm going to be singing a song with my long time songwriter, partner, and best friend, Ally Dawson. It's probably a little different than what you're all used to from me, but I think you're going to like it. Give it up for Ally!"

Austin grins and throws his arm out to the side of the stage where's she's standing and turns his head to look at her.

She feels the blood drain from her face and she knows, _knows_ that she's not going to be able to move.

His smile falters and she sees his eyes widen for a second as she just stands there, frozen, but then he turns back to the crowd and grabs the microphone.

"Um, I think we're having some technical difficulties. Hang on minute while I go see what's up." He waves at the audience as he starts to jog off the stage and points to the back of the theater. "House music, please!"

A booming bass track starts playing as Austin approaches, his guitar slung over his back, and she feels the floor underneath her feet start to vibrate.

He comes to a stop in front of her.

"Ally. Ally, what's wrong?" he asks, his voice concerned. "Come on, they're going to love it, and they're going to love you. It's the last show of the tour, and if anything goes wrong…" he pauses, seeing the panicked look on her face. "Which it _won't_—don't make that face—you won't have to worry about it ever again."

She finally lifts her head to look at him when he hesitantly puts a hand on her shoulder. She takes another deep breath and fights the _very_ strong urge to chew on her hair.

"I can't do this, Austin," she says. "I'm terrified. I'm going to mess up, and then it'll ruin the concert, and then it'll ruin your entire career, and then you'll hate me, and then I'll be all alone because Trish and Dez will hate me too because it'll ruin their careers, and I'll end up living with twenty cats, and I'll constantly be sneezing because I'm allergic to cats and—"

She trails off as she sees his raised eyebrows and she lets out a nervous laugh. He steps back and runs a hand through his hair, sighing.

She looks at her feet. "Austin, I want to go out there, more than you know—"

"Then just _go_," he interrupts. "It's that simple. You can do this."

She opens her mouth to say something but finds herself unable to say anything. She can hear the crowd starting to get a bit restless but he seems completely unaffected. He's just standing there, looking at her.

She exhales loudly. And inhales. And exhales again. "All right," she hears herself say. "All right."

He beams at her and she feels tense, her heart pounding out of her chest, but under that, there's a slowly emerging sense of determination. Apparently, this just makes her look more nervous, because he tries to reassure her again. "Come on. Just focus on me, pretend we're in our practice room, at the piano—"

"No." She lifts her chin up and stands up straighter. "I need to do this knowing there's an audience. This is what I _want_," she says firmly.

She doesn't think Austin's smile can get any bigger, but then it does, and he grabs her hand and starts pulling her toward the stage.

She focuses on the feel of his hand completely enveloping hers, before being completely blinded by the stage lights. She stumbles a little and he tightens his grip on her, steadying her before anything can happen.

He lets her go when they get to the piano and adjusts his guitar strap while she takes her seat at the bench. He puts the microphone back on the stand and smiles at the audience that's cheering wildly.

"Ally Dawson, everyone!" He grins again and his eyes are locked on hers across the piano.

She gives him a small smile, takes a breath, and begins to play.

Once she starts, she tunes everything out. The audience, the nervousness, the feeling in her stomach, the lights, the stage. She focuses on the music, the piano, her voice, his voice, how her voice fits with his voice, and before she knows it, the song is over and she blinks down at her hands.

There is a millisecond of silence that she swears lasts five minutes, and then the audience erupts in thunderous applause and before she can do anything, think anything, Austin is at her side, smiling, his hand under her elbow, gently nudging her to stand. She allows him to pull her up and he wraps his arm around her shoulders.

It is then, when they are standing under the bright lights, a thousand people on their feet for him, no, she realizes, for him _and _her, Austin's palm warm and solid on her shoulder, that she starts to smile. It turns into a grin and her eyes catch Austin's, and then all at once, they're laughing and she wonders why it had taken her so long to do this because it feels so _right_.

He moves his arm from around her and takes her hand, pulling her to the front of the stage so she can get a better look at the audience and, she supposes, so they can get a better look at her, Austin Moon's mysterious songwriter who had finally come out of the shadows. The cheering gets even louder, and then they bow, hands clasped tightly together.

She feels giddy as they bow again and she can't stop another laugh from escaping. Austin hears her, and grins as he starts to walk off the stage, waving to the audience. "Goodnight, Miami! See you again soon!"

They're backstage now, and she feels like her heart is about to explode and her face is beginning to hurt from smiling so widely. She turns to see that he's looking at her with an expression she can't place, his eyes thoughtful.

She smiles at him. "What'd you think?"

Apparently, that's what he had been waiting for, because before she can even blink, his arms are around her and her feet are off the ground.

She squeals in surprise as he spins her around, around, and breathes a laugh as he sets her down.

"You were amazing. We were awesome. It was so, so good," he says. "You…Ally, it was beautiful. You were…" He hesitates. "The song was beautiful."

She looks up at him, blushing, because she hears something in his voice that makes her think he might not actually be talking about the song. His gaze is steady, his eyes dark and serious, and he's looking at her in a way that she's never seen before and she suddenly feels dizzy and a little overwhelmed. She feels nervous again, all of a sudden, but she thinks it might have nothing to do with stage fright and everything to do with the blond haired boy standing in front of her.

Ally becomes awkward when she's nervous, so she tears her eyes away from his, backs away, and laughs a little too loudly. "Thanks, Austin. Guess ol' Ally D came through for the big number after all!" She makes a strange movement with her arms and he finally laughs, diffusing the strange and unfamiliar tension.

She feels oddly disappointed, but before she can analyze the moment further, they're interrupted with the arrival of Trish and Dez, who are practically running toward them in excitement.

She suddenly finds herself at the center of a crushing group embrace and she staggers backward, laughing, from the force of it.

* * *

That night, Ally can't sleep. Miami is the last stop of Austin's tour and now she's back in her old room, staring at the painted clouds on her ceiling, unable to relax. Something in her has shifted, and feels like nothing will ever be the same again and she's not quite sure if that's a good or bad thing yet. For the past eight years, it had been Austin Moon in the limelight, while she had kept a low profile, preferring to be his rarely seen partner and songwriter.

Tonight, though, even though they had only performed one song, it had been Austin Moon _and_ Ally Dawson, and she realizes that she likes the sound and feel of that more than she thought she would. For the first time, she thinks, she is not looking forward to his future, but the potential of _theirs_. They've both changed a lot since they started out, she realizes, but it might finally be time that they make a change together.

She's more confident and stands up for herself more than she used to, but she's still dorky and nerdy and a little bit awkward, and the easiness with which she trusts other people still gets her into trouble from time to time. She still finds happiness in books and writing and cloudwatching and calculators but she's a little more comfortable venturing outside of her shell.

Their performance earlier isn't the first time she's performed on stage since her MUNY catastrophe but it has been the biggest crowd yet. Something about that particular moment, something she can't quite put words to, has stirred something deep within her, and made her ready to finally, fully pursue her dream.

Surprisingly (or not), fame and success hadn't really changed Austin. Much. There _had _been a three-month long period about two years ago, during a volatile relationship with a famous actress, when she wondered whether the Austin Moon she knew would ever come back. His personality changed while he had been with _her _(Ally refuses to even _think _her name)_. _Confidence became cockiness and priorities shifted from music and friends to money and status, to the point that he was barely recognizable to her, a dark time that she hates thinking about.

Something though, something that he hasn't ever talked about, finally snapped him out of it, and he knocked on her door late one night, presumably after breaking things off with _her_, holding out a jar of pickles and a book on clouds that she had no idea he even knew she wanted. She stepped aside so he could come in and then _screamed _at him for seventeen minutes straight until she sank to the floor in exhaustion.

"I'm sorry, Ally," he said, dropping to the floor in front of her, his voice quiet. "I'm so, so sorry." She stared at him for a minute, searching his eyes, before finally holding her arms out, and he had _collapsed _into her, burying his face in her neck. "If you ever do that again, you can't come back," she said quietly. "I know," he said, his arms tight around her. "I know."

But now, he's mostly back to being easy-going, although she's had to pull his head down from the clouds a few times. His weaknesses are back to being pancakes and stuffed animals, though he's grown up in important ways. He's not as immature as he was, although she starts to question that when he and Dez are left alone for extended periods of time. He usually thinks more before he acts now, but he's still a lot more spontaneous than she is, something that she's glad for, because it's usually him that's dragging her to experience new things.

Her mind is racing, thinking about their past, her past, and after she tosses and turns for a while, she gives up on sleep. She gets up, puts on an old pair of jeans and a shirt that might have belonged to Austin at some point and grabs her dad's car keys and her cell phone.

She leaves a note for her dad and heads to the practice room at Sonic Boom. The space hadn't changed, even in the years she had been immersed in Austin's music career and college in Los Angeles.

She heads straight for the piano without bothering to turn on the lights; the moon is full tonight and silvery light is filtering in through the windows. She starts playing, a classical piece that she had memorized when she was much younger. She closes her eyes for a moment, imagining herself on stage earlier that night. She jolts upright as she hears a sound and turns around to see Austin leaning in the doorway. "Sorry, Ally, I didn't mean to scare you," he says.

She waves away his apology. "Can't sleep either?" she asks, swiveling around on the bench to face him.

He nods. "Yeah. I couldn't think of anywhere else to go." He pauses. "Why are you sitting here in the dark?"

She shrugs. "You can turn on the lights if you want."

"Nah, it's okay." He walks closer toward her and gestures to the piano. "What are you playing? A new song? I only heard a few seconds."

She shakes her head and turns back to the piano. "No, nothing like that. It's a piece I played in a recital when I was maybe…" She scrunches her nose in concentration. "Eleven or twelve?"

She feels him behind her before he sits down, bumping his shoulder into hers. "You _would_ still remember it perfectly, even after ten years. Want to hear the first song _I_ ever learned?"

She sits up excitedly. "Of course!"

He flexes his fingers and places his hands on the keys. "Prepare to be amazed," he says dramatically. She rolls her eyes and sits back.

His fingers move lightly over the keys, and she recognizes the simple melody instantly. She joins him halfway through the song, an octave higher, their hands occasionally touching, and he turns his head to raise an eyebrow at her intrusion.

She shrugs and they finish it together. She grins. "That was actually my first song, too, believe it or not."

He laughs and stands up, holding his hand out to her. She takes it, allowing him to pull her to her feet before letting go. He looks at her, seeing her standing for the first time, and frowns. "Hey, is that my shirt?"

She smiles sheepishly and avoids his eyes. "Um…no?"

"Ha!" He points at her. "I _knew_ you had that shirt! You let me search for it for weeks on the bus! When you had it the _entire _time?"

She blushes. "Yeah, well, I like it. And you left it on my bunk. Even though I'd told you a million times not to leave your stuff lying around. Because you're a slob. So I took it. As retribution." She sniffs and swats his hand away. "For your messiness."

His jaw drops and he points to himself. "_My _messiness? And this is coming from the girl who somehow got toothpaste all over the toilet?"

She narrows her eyes at him and puts her hands on her hips. "How many times do I have to explain myself? I tripped! That can't really surprise you that much anymore."

He scoffs at her but she knows he's not serious. "Fine. But admit you're messy, too."

He cocks his head and eyes her shirt. "And I guess you can keep it."

"Hmm. I think we both know I don't need your permission." She turns her nose up at him indignantly. "And, no, I'm not admitting to anything."

He sighs in fake exasperation, shaking his head, and walks over to sit on the couch. "Yeah, yeah, I know. You're the boss." He pats the cushion next to him, inviting her to join him.

She laughs at the face he makes and walks over to plop down heavily next to him, yawning as she leans against him slightly.

"I think I'm getting sleepy now."

He leans back into the cushions. "Me too."

She feels her eyelids getting heavier, and presses further into him. "We should probably go home."

"Probably," he agrees, his voice quiet, but makes no effort to get up.

His arm goes around her shoulders, pulling her closer instead, and she leans her head on his chest, because she's sleepy, and he's warm, and they're both exhausted. There's a voice inside her head telling her that this might be crossing the boundaries of what best friends are supposed to do, but she ignores it, imagining the look in his eyes after the performance. Their relationship is slowly changing; she can feel it, but then again, they've been changing each other since the day they met.

She feels his fingers press lightly on her arm before going slack, and she realizes he has already fallen asleep. This is a talent of his, one that she has always envied, because she has always been very particular about where and when she can sleep. She tilts her head back slightly and studies his face.

His light hair is still a mess, but his face is calm and his lips are slightly parted. She can make out dark, full eyelashes in the moonlight, and follows the lines of his face down his nose, to his chin and back up to his closed eyes. His chest is rising and falling evenly below her and she curls into him, finally closing her eyes, allowing his warmth and the rhythm of his quiet breathing to lull her into sleep.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading! Reviews would be awesome!


	2. We Were Never The Same

Disclaimer: Austin and Ally is not mine.

A/N: I feel like the first chapter ended kind of ambiguously but this one should be better; it's definitely going to be a multichapter in case that wasn't clear.

* * *

They have two weeks in Miami on vacation before they are supposed to be back in Los Angeles to start working on Austin's next album. Both Austin and Ally spend the first week mostly with their parents, who they haven't seen in four months. Ally's mom is home for a while from her latest adventure and they spend their time trading tour and jungle stories over cups of tea, laughing when some of them sound oddly similar.

She plays her mom a song that she's been writing, a song that she hasn't shown Austin, because she's always been good at expressing herself through music and she needs advice. The lyrics are about change, moving forward and holding back, and her mom has a thoughtful look on her face when she finishes playing. She wonders if she has figured out what the song is meant to convey, and looks at her mom nervously.

"So…you and Austin, huh?" she asks, not missing a beat.

She blushes and buries her head in her hands. "I don't know," she groans. "Things just seem…not the same, you know? And I don't know what to do. Or if I should even do anything. I mean, if I say something, and he doesn't actually feel that way, or if he does…what if we try being, you know, more, and it just doesn't work? I mean, he's my best friend. He means more to me than pretty much anyone in the world and I don't want to do anything to hurt what we already have. He's…we've been through so much together, and I don't know if I'm ready for such a big change."

Her mom smiles. "You don't have to do anything you're not ready for. Although, I can't really say I'm surprised. Well, actually, I'm little surprised at how long it's taken. I've had a feeling about you two since the day I met Austin."

Ally looks at her incredulously. "That was over six years ago, Mom."

Her mom laughs. "I observe animals for a living, sweetie. Nothing really gets past me." She stands up and sits next to Ally on the piano bench, and rubs her back lightly. "I think you two have always been headed for something. Just let it take its course. Don't think too much." She pauses. "Well, try not to, anyway."

She nods and gives her mom a hug. "I missed you a lot, Mom. Thanks for everything."

Her mom squeezes back tightly. "I've missed you too, Ally. And I'm so proud of you. What you've done in the last few years with Austin, your performance a few days ago, the woman you've become, who you're becoming. I can't wait to see what the future holds for you."

She smiles, her spirits lifted. "Me, too."

* * *

Before she knows it, it's their last night in Miami. They're at a big party, with all of their friends and families, champagne flowing and people talking, laughing, and dancing all around her. She's just about to go over and get another drink when Austin comes up to her, grinning and slightly out of breath. "You've got to come dance."

She raises an eyebrow and looks at him skeptically. "Really?"

Her dancing had improved slightly, but not by much since they had started out, and he knows it.

"Come on, Ally, everyone's pretty much too drunk to even notice, your, um…" He scratches the back of his neck and tilts his head. "Unique moves. Plus, the parents are gone, so we can actually start playing good music."

She rolls her eyes but accepts the hand he extends to her, allowing him to drag her to the dance floor. The song currently playing is fast, the lyrics silly and stupid, and Austin grabs her hands and starts jumping around wildly. She laughs as her entire body is pulled along with him, and he pulls her into a spin. She yelps in surprise at the unexpected dip at the end, but grins at him as he brings her up.

"Thanks for not dropping me that time," she teases, referencing their dance at Trish's quinceanera many years ago.

Austin smiles as spins her again. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

She trips over his feet as he pulls her back toward him, but before she can even begin to lurch forward, his hands are on her waist to steady her. He smirks and releases her when he's sure that she's stable on her feet. "At least you actually tripped on my feet that time, and not your own."

She sighs, defeated. "And at least there aren't any amps near us for me to knock over. Your ankles are probably safe this time, I think."

He laughs, stepping back slightly, his hands around hers again. "I'll risk it."

They dance for a few fast songs together, her strange moves eliciting a laugh from him every now and then. She laughs with him and lets her body relax, and stops worrying about every single movement.

Abruptly, though, the music changes, and both of them stop. She looks down at her feet, her hands still in his, and she feels his eyes on her, the music slower, sensual, deep bass thrumming through the entire room. He tightens his grip on her hands slightly, forcing her to look up at him. He gives her a questioning look, silently asking if she wants to continue, and she doesn't know if it's the way he's looking at her, the couple of glasses of champagne in her system, or just sheer courage, but she takes a step closer.

His arms go hesitantly around her waist and she wraps hers around his neck as he slowly pulls her toward him, his chest almost brushing hers, and she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Suddenly, his mouth is by her ear. "Is this okay?" he whispers.

She nods, feeling his hands shift on her waist and opens her eyes to find herself face to face with his neck. She watches, mesmerized, as his Adam's apple bobs up and down as he swallows and then he starts moving, his hands guiding her hips as they sway slowly on the dance floor. She allows herself to be led by him and focuses on the feel of his hands and the way her heart is beating out of her chest. She closes her eyes again and when she bravely lets her fingers wander into the hair at the nape of his neck, she feels him exhale, his breath stirring the hair on top of her head.

Ally starts to wonder what exactly she's gotten herself into but promptly stops thinking all together when his fingertips ghost the bare skin of her lower back underneath her shirt and all she knows is that this feels right, it feels good, and that she doesn't want to stop. He lowers his head to hers again, and she shivers slightly as she feels his breath tickle her ear. "Ally, I..." He pauses.

His voice is low and rough, and she has the irrational thought that it's unfair that he is even _allowed_ to say her name like that. She feels lightheaded, like she's not getting enough oxygen, and she is overwhelmed by his closeness, his scent, the way he feels against her, but she wouldn't trade this feeling for the world. She blushes, but presses closer to him in answer to whatever he was going to ask, closing the space between them so her chest is flush against his.

He doesn't say anything more but his arms tighten around her waist and she buries her head in the space between his neck and shoulder, turning her face toward him. His head drops so that it's resting on her shoulder, and she knows that there's no going back from this and her stomach flutters in anticipation. They stay like that for a few minutes, rocking slowly back and forth to the music, although she can barely hear it over the pounding in her chest.

She feels his grip around her waist loosen slightly before he inhales sharply and then he suddenly steps completely away from her, running a hand through his hair and avoiding her eyes. "Maybe we should…we should probably go home, right? It's late, and we have an early flight." He clears his throat and finally looks at her. "I'll drive you home. You've been drinking a little, right? I just had one beer, a while ago."

Her eyes widen and she nods slowly, slightly dazed from the abrupt loss of contact. "Oh. Yeah, okay, let's go."

They don't say anything as they walk to the car together except for her mumbled "Thanks," when he opens the door for her, and the short drive to her house is silent except for the quiet music coming from the radio. She doesn't exactly know what just happened, and while she is frustrated, another part of her is a little glad that he stopped…whatever it was, because she doesn't think she wants her first…anything with him to be at a loud party in Dez's basement with alcohol slightly dulling her senses.

He pulls the car into her driveway but she doesn't open the door right away. She turns her head to look at him, finding his eyes already on hers. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He nods, and something in his expression makes her move closer, her eyes drifting shut as she kisses him softly on the cheek. "Good night, Austin."

* * *

He's probably reached private jet status, but she thinks it's excessive and he doesn't care either way so they're all in first class and she and Austin are seated next to each other. Trish and Dez are sitting two rows behind them, but she can hear their faint arguing about something or another. Austin falls asleep before they even take off but she takes out her well-worn songbook and starts doodling, writing bits of lyrics and random thoughts.

Her song ideas are mostly for duets now, and she wonders how he'll feel about that. It's been him alone on stage for so many years, and even though he's never stopped pushing her or encouraging her to come out of her shell, she's not exactly sure what he wants or expects from her. She knows they need to discuss her newfound ambition and how and if it will fit in with his own career.

They've talked in hypotheticals before, many late night conversations about what her life would be like if she were to ever get over her stage fright, but they've never seriously discussed what it would mean for him. She's not naïve enough to think that one performance has completely cured her of her fear of performing in front of people, but she feels like she's finally ready to move forward and not let it cripple her dreams anymore.

She's lost in her thoughts and doesn't notice that he's awake until she feels a slight tugging on her book.

She narrows her eyes at him and clutches it to her chest protectively. "Don't touch my book."

He raises his hands up in defense. "Yeah, yeah, I know, sorry, I was just trying to get your attention. What are you doing? You look…upset or something."

She sighs. She doesn't want to talk about it until she's sure about what she wants, so she says, "Nothing. I'm just thinking about some new lyrics."

He frowns but doesn't press it, knowing by now that she will come to him when she's ready. "Okay," he says, and shifts so he's facing her, the side of head resting on the back of the seat. "How much longer?"

She checks her watch. "Until we land? Just under an hour. You slept for a long time."

He turns away and stretches, his feet disappearing under the seat in front of him as he clasps his hands above his head. He yawns in response and says sleepily, "Late night."

His eyes are starting to close again so he doesn't see her blushing as she recalls exactly what happened to make it a late night. She closes her eyes as she imagines his arms around her, the way she had felt, completely wrapped up in him. He hasn't really been acting differently towards her since _The Incident_ (capitalized and italicized, as she had been referring to it in her mind), except for some unreadable glances when he thought she wasn't looking so she doesn't want to create a potentially very awkward situation by bringing it up.

She swallows as she remembers the feel of his fingertips pressing into her skin. "Yeah," she whispers. "Late night."

* * *

They've written three songs and recorded one in the week since they've gotten back to LA. They've all been solos for Austin up to this point, and she's getting more and more nervous to tell him that she wants to maybe stop being his songwriting partner and move on to being on stage with him. Or by herself, she supposes, but she would never turn down the opportunity to perform with him. She's been contemplating the conversation she needs to have with him for what seems like every minute of every day but she hasn't worked up the courage to bring it up yet.

They go out to dinner on Saturday night, to a hole-in-the-wall Thai place that they've grown to love and the paparazzi haven't found yet. Ally still loves pickles, and Austin has pancakes for breakfast at least three times a week, but like them, their tastes in food have evolved.

Over dinner, they discuss his schedule for the next two weeks, occasionally intermixed with stories about what kind of trouble Trish and Dez had gotten into the past week. She watches him as he animatedly tells her that Dez has been developing his own line of suspenders, hopefully to be endorsed by the one and only Austin Moon, and it is moments like these that she burns to memory, when she can plainly see how happy he is with life, with who he is and where he is going, when she wishes that she could be a little bit more like him.

When they finish dinner, he leans back in his chair and groans. "I'm so full."

She leans forward, putting her elbow on the table and resting her head in her hand. She means to agree with him, but what comes out of her mouth is not that. "I want to sing."

Her eyes widen and she looks at him, slightly shocked, and lifts her head.

He slowly sits up straight and raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Um, what?"

She shuts her eyes for a second and takes a deep breath. "I want to sing. Perform. I don't want to just write for you behind the scenes anymore. That performance in Miami…that was amazing. I forgot what that felt like, being on stage, after avoiding it for so long. I…I mean, I'm not saying that I'm completely cured of my stage fright, but I know that I want this."

She hesitates and looks at him, wringing her hands. "And…I'd like to do this with you. But I know that might not be possible, or even something that you want. And I know I might be kind of a liability. But we could start slow. That is, if you would even want to. I'm sorry, I'm rambling, and I didn't mean to bring this up now, but I've been thinking about it for weeks now and I guess I just needed you to know." She steels her face, preparing for his reaction. "And if you don't want to do it with me, I…I think I still want to do it. Alone."

She stops talking and looks at him nervously. He's looking back at her, but his face hasn't changed the entire time she had been talking. She has absolutely no idea what he's thinking and suddenly feels like she's going to throw up, but then he speaks.

"I've been waiting for you to say that for years. And as much as I'd love to go from being Austin Moon to being half of Austin and Ally, I think you know, deep down, that this is something you have to do on your own first." He gives her a small smile.

She opens her mouth to interrupt, confused, but he continues. "No, listen. You think I haven't been thinking about this too? Miami…Miami was incredible. I felt something on stage that I haven't ever felt. Ever. It was like I finally found what I've been missing, musically."

He takes a deep breath. "But this is new for you. And you have to find yourself in your music, and it can't have anything to do with me. Your life has been revolving around mine for _eight_ years, Ally. You need to figure out who you are without me, because you're incredible, and I—"

He pauses, looks at her. "I think I'd be holding you back."

It's absolutely the last thing she expected to hear and she stares at him, trying to comprehend what he's just said.

He doesn't say anything else, allowing his words to sink in, and looks at her anxiously. Her mind is reeling, and she feels a confusing mixture of gratitude, happiness, rejection, and nervousness starting to take over. She doesn't even know where to begin but knows she has to say something.

"But…but you're a part of me, Austin. I don't—" She cuts herself off, suddenly feeling like she's about to cry, and she can't really figure out why.

His eyes widen, apparently sensing what's about to happen, and before she can do anything, he's throwing money down on the table and taking her wrist, dragging her out of the restaurant to his car.

As soon as she gets in the passenger seat, she bursts into tears, feeling completely ridiculous. She can see Austin starting to panic, his face a mixture of worry and confusion. "Ally…"

She tries to talk, to reassure him that she's not upset with him, but what comes out is a strange noise that for some reason only makes her cry harder. He hesitantly reaches a hand out to rest it on her back, rubbing lightly, and finally, she starts to calm down, her breathing evening.

She groans and drops her head into her hands. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. That was…what you said was so unexpected. And nice." She points at him accusingly and he raises his eyebrows in surprise.

"It was so nice! But I also feel like you're rejecting me, even though I know you're not, and I'm also…you want me to do it on my own, and that's so scary but also something I've dreamt about because like you said, I need to know who I am without you. But you're such a big part of me."

She looks at him, feeling her face begin to crumple again, her voice dropping to a whisper. "And…and I don't even know how to begin separating myself from you."

She feels her eyes welling up with tears and turns away from him, letting out a shaky laugh. "And I also don't know why I'm being so ridiculous. I don't cry!" She sniffs. "You've known me for years and you can probably count on one hand the number of times you've seen me cry."

She wipes her eyes and turns to face him, calmer now.

"This makes three." He clears his throat. "The uh, number of times I've seen you cry, that is."

She doesn't say anything but nods blankly, not exactly knowing how to feel that he would remember something like that.

Austin looks at her. "And you're not being ridiculous. You're being…Ally. Kind of. Minus the crying." He gives her a small smile. "This was a lot to take in."

He stares down at his lap. "I mean, you're a part of me, too. A huge part. Of my music, of my life. Everything's going to change. But…but once you try it on your own, maybe we can…you know, do this together."

He raises his head and tries to smile at her but his face falters. "But you're going to be amazing. And it's not like I'm not going to be there. I've…"

He hesitates and looks at her nervously. "I didn't tell you earlier because you seemed so eager to get into working on my next album, but I've kind of been wanting to take a break. So you—no, we—can focus on your career without worrying about mine."

His voice wavers a bit as he speaks, and she thinks he's trying to keep a brave face for her benefit because this is all new for him too and the realization makes her breath catch. Because he is letting her go, in a sense, and while he'll be by her side as she takes this new journey, it won't be the same. It might be better, she thinks, as she looks at him, but right now, she feels like she's losing a part of herself, however senseless that thought may be.

Their eyes lock for a second before she launches herself at him, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck and her body almost on his lap.

His arms are instantly around her, his forehead dropping to her shoulder, and they stay like that unmoving, silent, for nine beats of her heart before they separate. He presses his lips to the side of her head as she untangles herself from him, the first time he's ever done that, and she blushes a little as she slides back into the passenger seat.

He lets out a breath after a minute and turns his head to look at her. "Now what?"

She looks at his hands on the steering wheel. "Let's get out of here."

If he's confused, he doesn't say anything but instead starts the car and heads for some unknown destination. They roll the windows down, letting the warm air fill their lungs, and she feels like everything has shifted, although it all looks the same. She turns her head to look at Austin, his hair turning golden in the fading sunlight, a smile beginning to form on his face as one of their own songs comes on the radio, and she starts to think that maybe, just maybe, this change that's coming might not be so bad.

* * *

Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	3. Those Nights Everything Felt Like Magic

Disclaimer: _Austin and Ally_ belongs to Disney, not me.

A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing this story. I've been working on it in my spare time for a little over two months now and it's kind of become my pet project, so it's awesome to hear feedback. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

The next few weeks are a whirlwind. They spend every waking minute together, writing and recording songs for her demo. Some of the songs are old, lyrics she wrote when they were just starting out, while others are new, reflecting where she's been and where she's going.

They fight more times than she can count, and their practice room door is slammed enough that she starts to worry about its structural integrity because she's a perfectionist and he becomes cranky when he's tired but in the end, it pays off. She kind of feels like she's cheating when they send the songs to an executive at Austin's record label but it's a foot in the door and she knows she can't say no to the opportunity.

They send the songs in on a late Friday night knowing they won't hear anything back until Monday, at the earliest. Being connected to Austin definitely has perks and she knows anything with his name attached to it will be fast tracked. When the e-mail goes through, he sits back and rubs his face.

"I can't believe we did it," he says, and turns to look at her.

She grins at him before jumping up to do her Ally dance, and he watches her for a few seconds before joining her, their arms flailing everywhere, their laughter filling up the room. She finally stops when she's out of breath and grabs his hand, pulling him towards the door. "Come on, we have to go celebrate!"

He stumbles after her, allowing her to lead the way. "Where are we going?" he asks, slightly winded himself.

"I don't know! But we have to do something!" She's almost running now as they exit the studio, heading for her car. She lets go of his hand when they reach it, sliding into the driver's seat while he gets in next to her.

"Let's…let's go to the beach!" she says excitedly, while he raises an eyebrow at her.

"But you hate the beach."

"I know, right? But I don't hate it today! Today, the beach is amazing! We should go swimming. It's warm enough to swim, right? I mean, it's almost October, but it's LA!"

He opens his mouth to answer but she doesn't wait, instead turning the car on and practically peeling out of the parking lot.

He tightly grips the seat beneath him, his eyes widening. "Ally, jeez! What's the rush?"

She flushes and slows the car down to a more reasonable speed. "Sorry, I…uh…got carried away for a second there."

"No kidding," he says as he looks at her incredulously. "And the beach is going to be closed. It's dark out."

"Hmm."

His eyes narrow as he turns his head to look at her. "_Hmm_? And what exactly does that mean?"

She doesn't take her eyes off the road, but grins. "It means we'll just have to sneak in."

His jaw drops as he clutches his chest theatrically. "What?" he exclaims. "But you're Ally Dawson! You don't break the rules!"

She smirks, giving him a sideways glance. "Ally D's breaking all the rules tonight."

He lets out a laugh and collapses back into the seat. "This I have to see."

When they pull up to the beach, it's deserted and it turns out it's not really sneaking in when there's no one there to stop them. They leave their shoes in the car and he holds in a laugh as he watches her dart her head around to make sure it's safe but plays along anyway, following closely behind her as she stealthily makes her way toward the water.

They stop at the water's edge, the waves occasionally reaching their feet, and he looks at her. "Well? Are you going in?"

She blushes and looks at her toes. "I um…forgot that we don't have swimming suits."

He shrugs, reaching for the hem of his shirt, pulling it off and throwing it on the sand. "So? This is a celebration!" He unbuttons his shorts, stepping out of them to reveal his boxers, and she can barely make out the tiny trucks on them in the moonlight.

She reddens further, feeling her pulse quickening at the sight of his bare chest and she wills herself to act normal because after all, it's not like she's never seen him shirtless before. He seems oblivious to her inner struggle and instead steps further into the water and turns to face her. He spreads his arms out, challenging her. "Come on, this was your idea!"

She opens her mouth to tell him that she's changed her mind, because this is getting too far outside of familiar territory for her, for them, but then she remembers what her mom had said to her all those weeks ago. She and Austin are headed somewhere, she realizes, and she suddenly finds herself wanting more than anything to find out exactly where that is.

She pulls down her skirt, feeling his eyes on her, and exhales loudly before quickly drawing her shirt over her head. It takes her two tries to make eye contact with him and when she finally does her heart is in her throat at the way he's looking at her. His eyes are locked on hers for one breath, then two, and then her nerves get the best of her and she looks away, blushing.

She can feel her sudden burst of courage fading fast, so she takes a deep breath and runs past him into the waves, the cold shocking her senses, and she swims until she can't feel the sand underneath her feet. She treads water, waiting for him, and it doesn't take long for him to reach her. The water is still shallow enough for him to stand, reaching his shoulders, and she watches him as he ducks his head underneath the water, splashing her as he emerges. She sputters as he laughs at her and she glares at him.

"Oh, it's on!" she shrieks, her nervousness fading, because after all, she's known him for what seems like forever and he's her best friend and she remembers that they're supposed to be celebrating.

He yelps when she splashes him back, and she cackles evilly as he dives under the water to get away from the barrage. She looks around wildly, unable to see him for a few seconds, but then he emerges from behind her, sending a wall of water into her back. She spins around and manages to retaliate before he goes under again, this time coming up in front of her. She avoids his splash by diving under herself and comes up for air a few feet away, in water that's a little deeper.

"Too slow!" She sticks her tongue out at him childishly and he narrows his eyes at her. "Come and get me!" she says, grinning, and then laughs wildly as he launches himself toward her, water coming up all around them.

She's about to attack again when his hands go up in surrender and he grins as he catches his breath. They're both further out now, and he's no longer standing on the sand, but floating, like her. She's breathing heavily too, and her legs are starting to grow tired from treading water for so long, but she smiles back at him in triumph.

"Ha! I so won. Looks like Ally D brought some game!" She pumps her fist and punches the water for emphasis and he bursts out laughing and her grin grows wider.

"Ally D is on a roll tonight," he says when he stops laughing, and then swims closer to her.

Her stomach starts fluttering as he approaches, her own smile fading, and when he is in front of her his eyes are dark and serious.

She allows herself to drift closer to him, the ends of her hair brushing against his chest under the water, and she looks up at him through wet eyelashes. "Hi," she whispers.

"Hey," he whispers back, and then he's _right_ _there _and his hands are on her waist and he's pulling her towards him. Her arms wrap around his shoulders and their legs tangle under the water.

"Congratulations, Ally," he whispers, and then he kisses her.

It's hesitant at first, because they're best friends and they've never done this before, but then something shifts and he's cupping her face with one hand and pulling her toward him with the other and she feels like she won't ever get close enough. But then, all of a sudden, she feels a stabbing pain in her leg and tears herself away from him, gasping. She breathes heavily through her mouth and points down at the water, eyes squeezing shut in pain. "Ow. My leg…cramp."

Austin looks dazed, his brow wrinkling in confusion. "Huh? Your…leg?"

She nods and opens her mouth to say something but the stabbing is back and she winces. "I…ugh…I need to stand up."

His eyes finally widen in understanding and he takes her hand, swimming toward the shore, pulling her along. He stops when they reach water shallow enough for her to stand in. They look at each other for one beat of her heart, two, and then he's kissing her again as he pulls her towards him through the water, and she's standing on his feet and her arms are around his neck. She makes a noise when his tongue skims her bottom lip and he deepens the kiss as his hands tighten almost painfully on her waist. And then, when she feels like she can't hold her breath any longer, he pulls away and just looks at her, his eyes intense.

She stares back, not really knowing what to do, but then he leans forward again and she sighs into his mouth, bringing her fingers up into his hair. He kisses her once, twice, and pulls slightly back, then forward again, dragging his lips down her neck, and she closes her eyes as he kisses her collarbone.

"Ally," he whispers. "Ally, Ally…"

She tugs lightly on his hair, wanting his mouth on hers again, and he lets her take the lead this time. She darts her tongue out to run it along his bottom lip and he tastes like saltwater and something else that she can't place but will later come to realize is just _Austin_ and when his tongue curls around hers she feels like her heart might burst out of her chest.

They kiss until they're both shivering in the water and her lips are slightly swollen and when she can't stand the cold anymore, he takes her hand and leads her out of the water onto the sand.

He takes her wrist, turning her around towards him, and kisses her softly once more after they're dressed and in front of her car, and the look in his eyes when he steps away makes her feel weak in the knees. She feels slightly dizzy and her hands are shaking slightly as she climbs into the driver's seat and she's tempted to give him the keys but then he would have to stay at her place, and she doesn't think she's ready for _that_ quite yet.

The ride to his house goes by silently and she feels like she's in a daze but they arrive before she can start panicking. She pulls into his driveway and turns the car off but doesn't move. She doesn't know what to say, what to do, because what do you say, what can you even say, to your up-until-minutes-ago-completely-platonic-best-frie nd that you just _made out_ with?

He's apparently as lost for words as she is and they spend a few awkward seconds trying to figure out whether or not they should look at one another. She blushes when their eyes finally meet and he opens his mouth to say something, then shuts it again.

Her eyes automatically close as he leans in and gives her a lingering kiss, his hand rising to rest on the back of her neck. He pulls back ever so slightly, the tip of his nose just brushing hers, and her eyes go slightly cross-eyed when she tries to look at him. He breathes a laugh when he sees her face and backs up a little further, his hand dropping to his lap.

"I…I'll see you tomorrow?"

She nods, unable to speak.

"Good night, Ally," he says, and she watches him walk into his house before she pulls away, her heart pounding.

* * *

She doesn't actually see him the next day, or the next, because Trish calls him panicking at 3 am on Saturday morning, forgetting that she had booked him at a charity event for a children's hospital in Chicago that night. Ally sees his text from 5 am letting her know that he was on the way to the airport when she wakes up. He calls her when he lands, sounding tired, but she knows he would never give less than one hundred percent, especially for an event like this.

"So, Trish screwed up, huh?" she asks.

She hears him sigh. "Yeah. This might be the first time she's forgotten about something this big, but no harm done, I guess. I'm here. And she's too good at everything else for me to be that mad."

"That's true." She hears someone calling his name in the background. "You should probably get going."

"Coming!" she hears him yell. "Sorry, yeah. Sound check's about to start and everyone's freaking out about the—I said I'm coming, just give me a damn second!"

She raises an eyebrow. Austin very rarely loses his temper, and especially not at crew members, and she realizes that he's either really tired or in a really bad mood. She chalks it up to the first one, figuring that he probably only got a couple of hours of sleep last night. "Uh, are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, Ally, it's just crazy here, and everyone is really unprepared, even the people who are running the event and—" He cuts off and she hears a muffled, "I _know_ we're opening with the new song, I'm the one who made the goddamn set list," and then, more clearly, "Sorry, Ally, it's just disorganized."

"You should go."

"Yeah, I'll talk to you later? Trish couldn't get a flight back for me tomorrow so I won't see you until Monday. I'm so sorry I won't be there, you'll probably be worrying about hearing back from the record company, and—"

She cuts him off. "Don't worry about it. I'm actually...kind of okay. You'll do great. And you should try to relax a little, if you can." She pauses, wanting to say more but finding herself unable to. "Bye, Austin."

She doesn't hear him respond, so she looks at her phone to see that the call is still connected.

"Austin?"

She hears silence, then the sound of him clearing his throat. "Listen, Ally, I…um, about last night..."

She raises both eyebrows, not expecting him to bring it up now, and especially not over the phone. "Oh." She hesitates, not knowing exactly what to say. "Um, we should probably talk when you get back?"

Silence. Then, "Okay."

Ally senses something in his voice that makes her think that he needs to hear something else from her, so she adds, "It…I'm not sorry it happened, Austin."

She hears him exhale loudly, as if he was holding his breath while waiting for her answer, and then he says, "Yeah? I…okay. It was…" He pauses. "I wish you were here."

She swallows, a strange but not unwelcome emotion filling her chest. "Me too. But you should really get going."

"Probably," he says reluctantly. "Bye, Ally."

She smiles. "Bye, Austin."

* * *

On Sunday, she calls Trish, who hadn't actually gone with Austin to Chicago, to take her mind off the demo. She realizes that she hasn't seen her in over a week, since she and Austin had been so consumed with finishing her songs.

They get lunch at a tiny cafe near the beach and as they wait for their food, they look out over the sparkling water and Ally tells her about Austin.

Trish squeals and practically leaps across the table to hug her. "Finally, Ally! We've all been waiting forever for you two to get your shit together!"

Ally laughs and hugs her back. Over the years, Trish's personality had only gotten louder with the addition of a few choice vocabulary words. She frowns, thinking over what Trish said. "Wait, who's _we_?"

Trish gives her an incredulous look. "You're kidding me, right? Me, Dez, your parents, Austin's parents, my brother, my parents, Dez's parents, your grandparents, Austin's great grandma, a couple of people from high school, Austin's backup dancers, Nelson—"

"Okay, okay," Ally interrupts, then pauses, cocking her head. "_Nelson_?"

Trish avoids her eyes and plays with a sugar packet.

She leans forward in her chair and sighs, playing with the straw in her water. "At least there's not a pool."

Trish lets out a nervous laugh. "Whaaaaat? Of course there's no pool."

"Are you serious? You guys have a pool going?"

Ally narrows her eyes and glares until Trish looks at her. "Um, no?"

"Oh my god, you totally do! Come on, who won?"

She mumbles something. "What's that?"

"Dez's dad."

Ally's jaw drops. "What? What did he guess?"

Trish gives her a sheepish look. "He guessed you'd get together on your 23rd birthday, so that makes him the closest. Everyone else lost years ago."

Ally shakes her head and pinches the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes. "How long has this pool even—you know what, don't answer that. You guys are the worst."

"Oh, come on, Ally, everyone saw it coming except for you. Even Austin."

Her eyes shoot open. "What do you mean, even Austin? He knows about the pool?"

Trish smiles. "No, of course he doesn't know. But he's been pretty much in love with you since we were eighteen."

"But…but he's dated since then! And how could you possibly even know that?"

Trish raises an eyebrow at her. "Um, because it was the most obvious thing in the world? Well, to everyone except you. And him, actually. I don't think he even realized it until maybe a year or so ago. So yeah, he dated, because he was an idiot and because you've never really done anything to make him think he had a chance!"

Ally slumps back in her chair, slightly stunned. "I mean, I've obviously thought about it a few times—how could I not? But I was afraid it would complicate things, and I…I had no idea he even wanted—" She pauses, her mind reeling. "I guess I had just resigned myself to the fact that we would always only be friends."

Trish nods. "But now?"

Ally blushes, remembering his lips against her neck. "We're…definitely not just friends anymore."

Trish smirks knowingly and Ally rolls her eyes at her. "Shut up. But Austin and I haven't really talked about any of this yet, and I don't want to jeopardize…whatever this is turning into, by assuming anything. What if he changes his mind after realizing that we wouldn't actually work as more than friends? We've been friends for so long, and if we try this and it doesn't work out, where does that leave our partnership? Our friendship? I mean, it was incredible, but it was just one night and it might have only happened because we were in the ocean and we were celebrating finishing my demo and we were practically naked—oh god—and what if—"

Trish lets out an exasperated sigh and throws up her arms in frustration, interrupting her rambling. "Ally, for being so smart, you can really be stupid sometimes. Don't worry so much. Just go with it. It's _Austin_. And it's _you_."

Ally rests her chin in her hand and sighs, turning her head to look out over the water. "Yeah, yeah, I know, that's what everyone keeps telling me."

* * *

Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	4. I Can't Help Myself

Disclaimer: _Austin and Ally_ is not mine. And Austin Moon belongs to Ally Dawson.

A/N: This is a short-ish chapter which is why I'm updating kind of quickly but I hope you guys enjoy it! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and favorited and followed so far. I really love your feedback and it's awesome to hear what you like (or don't like). Or tell me on Twitter (same handle)!

* * *

When Austin arrives at her house the next afternoon, she has a mini panic attack on the other side of the door—her heart starts beating wildly and her breathing becomes erratic. She takes a few deep breaths, flinching as he knocks a second time, but manages to compose herself enough to answer. Her palms are sweaty as she opens the door and she looks down at his shoes before hesitantly bringing her eyes up to his.

His hair is a little wet, like he just got out of the shower, and she can smell the bitter-clean scent of his soap and it's all she can do not to just stare at him. He looks at her silently for a few seconds, and then he steps forward and his hand is in her hair and her eyes drift shut as he presses his lips to hers.

The position is kind of uncomfortable with their height difference and she's standing on her tiptoes but she wouldn't change it for the world. He kisses her once, twice, three times before slowly pulling away and it takes her a second to open her eyes. She lowers her feet back to the ground and exhales heavily and then she looks up at him.

His hair is a little messy and eyes are dark and wild, pupils dilated, and she feels warmth pooling in the pit of her stomach as her pulse quickens.

"I um…um…oh, how was your flight?" she stammers, and then berates herself for asking such an inane question.

He blinks down at her, confused, and then he steps back, dropping his hands to his sides and she has to physically stop herself from gravitating toward him by digging her bare toes into the floor.

He runs a hand through his hair and lets out a breath. "Oh. Uh, it was fine, I guess."

She lets out a short, nervous laugh, eyes landing on the still open front door. "That's good. I, oh, um…you should maybe come in?"

She steps around him to shut the door and he pauses like he's deciding whether or not to do anything before walking past her into the living room. She follows him in, watching as he sits on the couch. Usually, under normal circumstances, she'd sit next to him, but she's _freaking out_ and so decides to take the furthest possible seat from him, an armchair that's across the room, next to her piano.

He raises an eyebrow as he watches her walk to the chair, and she cringes as she trips over the corner of the rug.

"Ally."

She pauses, almost to the chair. She turns to him guiltily, feeling as if he's caught her doing something she's not supposed to be doing.

"Did you hear anything back?"

She blinks.

"From the record company guy?"

Oh. Okay, so they weren't going to talk about…what just happened.

It takes her a second to remember what he's talking about and then she can't believe she _forgot_. She raises her eyebrows in shock. "Oh my god, I don't know. I haven't looked since this morning!"

She turns sharply and bolts past him into her bedroom, grabbing her laptop and opening it as she runs back out. She forgets about sitting in the chair and instead sits down heavily next to him, bumping her shoulder with his. She opens her e-mail, scanning through the sale ads and notifications and then she sees it. It's a reply from the record executive, from about an hour ago, and she's suddenly paralyzed, unable to open the message.

Austin spots it a second after she does and turns to her excitedly, his face dropping when he sees her expression. "Hey, what's wrong? Don't be nervous, there's no way he didn't love it," he says.

She shakes her head. "Yeah. Yeah, maybe. Can you…" she hands the laptop to him, unable to look herself.

He takes it from her and gives her a sideways glance before clicking the message. He scans it quickly and then hands the computer back to her, his face giving nothing away. "Read it."

She looks at him before turning to the screen but his expression is blank. She reads it once, twice, three times, not quite believing what she's seeing. There, in black and white, are words saying that he had loved the songs, loved her voice, and that he was prepared to offer her a record deal, once they negotiated terms and conditions and oh god, she has a recording contract. She says the words aloud, the words sounding foreign to her ears.

He laughs and takes the laptop from her, putting it on the coffee table before wrapping his arms around her in a hug so tight she can't breathe for a second. "I'm so, so proud of you, Ally," he mumbles, and she feels tears coming to her eyes.

Her dream, what she had strived toward for so many years, is materializing in front of her and she can't believe how quickly things are changing. She hugs him back just as tightly and buries her face in his neck.

When they pull apart, she wipes her eyes with her hand, waving away his concern when he sees that she's crying. "I'm happy. I'm happy, don't worry," she reassures him.

His face relaxes as he grins at her. She gives him a watery smile back before breaking into a teary laugh, unable to hold it together. "I can't…I can't even believe…I'm going to have an _album_! That people can…people can _buy_! In a _store_!"

She pauses. "Actually, most people will buy it online, right? Or download it illegally! But my _face_ is going to be on it! Oh god, my face—_my_ _face_—is going to be on an album! We have to start writing! And what if there's a _tour_?"

She looks at him, eyes wide, and tightly grasps his shoulders, shaking him. "A _tour_, Austin!"

Her eyes widen further. "But what if nobody buys tickets? Or what if they want me to _dance_? You know I can't dance! And—" she trails off as he brings his hands to her forearms, gently prying her hands from their death grip on his shoulders.

"Calm down, Ally," he says, laughing. "Nothing's even happened yet and you're freaking out about months from now."

She opens her mouth to argue and then shuts it, realizing how absurd she must have sounded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

He gestures to the laptop. "Email him back. You have to set up a time to meet with him. We'll handle this one step at a time, okay? So don't freak out."

He frowns, apparently realizing that this advice is wasted on Ally. "I mean, don't freak out so much. Besides, you have a professional rock star to help you." He sits up straighter, giving her a pointed look.

She raises an eyebrow. "Oh really? I'd love to meet him," she says sarcastically, and laughs when he deflates a little.

"Very funny. But seriously, you know I've been through all of this stuff."

She smiles. "I know. Thanks, Austin."

They're silent for a second, and then she lets out a squeal, unable to hold in her emotions. "I have to tell everyone!"

She throws her arms around him once more in a quick hug and practically leaps off the couch to get her phone before he can do anything. She sends texts to Trish and Dez and calls her parents before heading into the kitchen, suddenly craving ice cream to celebrate.

She comes back out holding two spoons and a pint of fruity mint swirl to find Austin where she left him, and he smiles up at her. She sits cross-legged next to him. "I thought we could celebrate?"

Austin's eyes light up when she hands him a spoon and they dig in. He holds out his spoon to her in a toast, and she clinks his with hers, their eyes meeting. "Congratulations, Ally," he says quietly, and she swears her heart stops beating.

The words bring back a flood of memories all from two nights ago, the words he had said right before he kissed her for the very first time. They both freeze, eyes locked on each other, the ice cream starting to melt off their spoons. She blinks and looks down when she feels something cold drip on her bare leg and quickly brings the spoon to her mouth to avoid spilling more ice cream. That seems to break him out of his trance as he does the same, but then their spoons are clean and they're left looking at each other again.

One, two, three breaths pass before she slowly sets her spoon down and leans in to him, her eyes on his lips. She stops an inch away from his mouth and just breathes before she shuts her eyes and closes the distance between them. His is mouth is cold and his response is instantaneous as he pulls her closer and she suddenly finds herself sitting sideways on his lap with his arms around her waist.

Her hands are flat on his chest and she drags them slowly upward, clasping them loosely around his neck. She kisses him slowly, like she's memorizing the taste and feel of his mouth, as her fingers wind their way into his hair.

She feels his hands on her waist shift and then his hands inch under her shirt, rubbing lazy circles into the bare skin of her back, and she shivers at the sensation as he pulls her even closer. She breaks away from his mouth when she needs to breathe and lowers her head to press languid kisses to his neck.

She licks his collarbone experimentally and _feels_ his groan vibrate through his chest. She does it again, feeling his fingers on her back clench, before bringing her mouth back up to his. He kisses her back feverishly, one hand moving from under her shirt to cup the back of her head, and she can feel his heart beating, rapid under her palm.

They're both out of breath when they break apart, their eyes locked as their breathing rates reach a more normal level.

He clears his throat, his eyes moving to her lips before he looks up at her again. "Um." He swallows. "We should talk."

She watches him watch her, then nods, suddenly extremely aware of her position on his lap. She slides off slowly and sits next to him sideways so her body is facing his.

"I…"

"We…"

They both speak at once and then fall silent, looking away from each other. His face is a little pink when he turns to face her and she can see his hands are trembling slightly. "You…the other night, on the phone, you said you weren't sorry that we…that we, you know."

She looks at him, eyes wide. "Of course I'm not, Austin. What just happened just now…" She gestures vaguely between them, "…didn't make that obvious?"

He lets out a breath. "So, you're okay. With…us?" He says the last word tentatively, looking past her.

She is a little confused at his hesitancy before she grasps that he's scared of what she's going to say despite the fact that she hasn't done anything to indicate that she's not more than okay with the recent turn of events. Austin is not the type to become insecure about anything, and she's never seen this side of him, afraid to put his heart on the line. He's usually impulsive, even when it comes to girls—and she's never seen him shy away from telling someone how he feels. For a second, she is floored, realizing just how much she must mean to him for him to be acting this way.

"Oh, Austin," she breathes. "You're so stupid."

He turns his head sharply to look at her, confusion on his face.

"I'm…" He trails off as she sits up on her knees and straddles him, her hair falling in a curtain around them as she takes his face in her hands. She kisses him softly, trying to show him that he has nothing to worry about, that she is as much his as he is hers.

She pulls away after only a few seconds and looks down at him, unable to keep the smile off her face, and he wraps his arms around her and buries his face in her neck, holding her tightly. He lets her go after a minute and she moves to a less suggestive position, her knees curled under her and pressed against the side of his thigh. She leans back into the cushions and turns her head to the side to look at him.

He turns too, so he's facing her, and leans the side of his head against the back of the couch. "So does this—" he gestures between them, "mean I have to take you out on dates now?"

She raises an eyebrow and reaches out one hand to shove him. He grins and catches her hand in his before she can and interlaces their fingers. She narrows her eyes at him. "Duh. And you're paying. You're the 'professional rock star,' after all." She makes air quotes with her free hand and smirks.

It's his turn to raise his eyebrows as he sits up straighter. "Oh, really? And who is it that negotiated her way into getting _fifty_ percent of my song royalties again?"

She waves her hand. "Pssht. That's just because you're a huge sucker. And you'd be nowhere without me."

She expects him to protest again but instead his face is serious. "That's true," he says quietly.

She leans in. "Which part?" she whispers.

"I think you know," he whispers back, before leaning forward to kiss her.

* * *

Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	5. Every Morning When I Open My Eyes

Disclaimer: _Austin and Ally_ belongs to Disney.

A/N: This is probably one of my favorite chapters that I've written so I hope you all like it. Thanks for all the reviews; they really mean a lot!

* * *

They have their first date that Friday, the night after her meeting with the record executive. She goes alone to the meeting and she's confident, her head full of Austin's advice. They hammer out a deal that says she will be able to release a full album by the end of the year, and sales permitting, a short tour afterward. He tells her that he'll send her a marketing plan by the end of the next week for her to look over but her main focus for the next couple of months should be on songwriting and actually creating the music.

He mentions Austin's name a few times, questioning how involved he is planning to be, and she doesn't exactly know how to answer. She has no idea if the record company knows about his plan to take a break, she realizes. In fact, _she_ doesn't even know what his plan is. He had mentioned taking a break from his career the day she had told him that she wanted to move forward with her own, but they hadn't discussed it after that. She answers vaguely, telling him that Austin might be helping her write songs but doesn't elaborate any further.

Her hand shakes just a little bit as she signs the contract and when she lifts the pen she feels like the weight that's been on her shoulders since her fateful MUNY audition dissolves into the air. She lets out the breath she had been holding and shakes the record executive's hand firmly before walking out of the building, her spirits high.

She looks at her phone to see that she has just a little over an hour before Austin is supposed to pick her up for their date and she rushes home to take a quick shower before changing into a new dress. She is oddly self-conscious as she does her hair and makeup and tries to shake the feeling because he's already seen her in every possible state.

He's seen her walk down the red carpet in a designer gown and heels so high he had to hold her up for half the night, he's been there as she sobbed with mascara running down her cheeks, he's seen her when she was so tired she had started mumbling song lyrics to Ms. Pennyworth and he's seen her in sweatpants and glasses, laughing hard enough to snort with her hair piled messily on top of her head.

She hears him knock and ignores the urge to look at herself in the mirror one more time, instead walking quickly to the door to open it.

Austin is standing there with one hand shoved in his pocket, flowers in the other, and he holds them out to her wordlessly, his mouth tilted in a crooked smile.

She smiles as she takes them and turns to go into the kitchen to put them in water but he grabs her hand before she walks away, spinning her around to face him. "You're so pretty," he says quietly, and she has a feeling it's going to be a good first date.

He follows her into the kitchen so she can put the flowers in a vase and she turns to look at him as she fills it with water. "They're beautiful," she says. "But you didn't have to bring me anything."

He raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms, leaning back against the counter. "I thought you wanted the rock star treatment?"

She scoffs. "Then we should probably be getting drunk on expensive tequila while having crazy sex in your three story penthouse right now, instead of you watching me fill a vase for a bunch of peonies."

Both of his eyebrows disappear into his hair at her statement and she bursts into laughter at his shocked expression before taking his hand and pulling him towards the front door. "Come on."

She lets him go when they reach the car and he steps forward to open the door for her and while she's perfectly capable of doing it herself she secretly likes the fact that he does things like that without even thinking about it.

"You know, you're impossible," he says, shaking his head.

She grins at him as he climbs into the driver's seat. "I know. Where are we going, anyway?"

He raises an eyebrow. "Like I'm going to tell you now. You'll just have to wait and see."

She rolls her window down as he pulls out of the driveway and tells him about the meeting. He's a little worried when she says that the album is supposed to be finished in a little over two months and pleasantly surprised that there are already mentions of a tour. He glances over at her. "Did they ask about me?"

She hesitates, wondering if they're going to talk about the whole taking a break thing. "Um, yeah. He asked how much you were going to be involved. I just said you would be helping me write songs." She pauses, unsure. "Have you…have you thought more about, you know, taking a break?"

He lets out a breath. "Yeah. I haven't told them yet, though. I'm not really sure how they're going to react, but honestly, Ally, I'm just kind of exhausted."

She frowns, a little confused, because this is the first time he's ever said anything like this.

He looks at her for a second before turning his eyes back to the road. "I don't know if I know exactly what I'm saying. But I kind of want to spend a few months figuring it out. And this is good timing, right?"

She nods, but she still feels like something's off. "You're not…you're not doing this because of me, are you? I would never forgive myself if—"

He interrupts her, shaking his head. "No way, Ally, I promise. I was actually going to tell you that night after the Miami concert. Remember, when we fell asleep in the old practice room? Way before you said anything about trying to get your own record deal. And then after that, the timing just wasn't right. But then you said you wanted to pursue your career so I figured it was a good a time as any to tell you."

She lets out a relieved breath and relaxes slightly. "What if they have a problem with it?"

He shrugs and lets out an irritated sigh. "What are they going to do, force me to sing and dance? Terminate my contract? I think I've been successful enough so far that they can give me a little space." He pauses. "Can we actually stop talking about this? I don't really want to discuss business with you on our first date."

She's a little taken aback at his tone but realizes that he's probably still coming to terms with this so she doesn't press him.

"Um, yeah, okay."

He glances over at her again and smiles, his mood lifting. "Any guesses on where we're going?"

She looks out the window, confused to see that they're heading for the outskirts of the city where there are mostly industrial complexes. "No idea. What's even out here?"

"It's a surpriiiiiise," he says, drawing out the last syllable. "Oh, you're never going to guess. And once we're there, you're going to flip out."

She narrows her eyes at him. "Tell me where we're going."

"No way. You'll find out soon enough. We're almost there."

Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, he's pulling the car over in front of a nondescript warehouse and she's even more confused. He comes around to her side to open her door and then he immediately covers her eyes with his hand and wraps his arm around her waist to guide her steps.

"Is this really necessary?" she asks, after she stumbles over the curb.

"Yes," she hears him say, and then she hears a few doors open and close before Austin's mouth is next to her ear.

"Ready?" he asks, before removing his hand. She blinks at the bright light as her eyes slowly adjust, and when she finally focuses on what's in front of her, she gasps.

Stacked all around her are jars. Of pickles.

She comes to the conclusion that they are in some sort of pickle heaven and whirls around to face Austin in disbelief. "Whaaaaaat?" she shrieks, and throws her arms around his neck for a brief second before running back over to get a closer look at the jars.

She hears him laugh behind her. "We're not in pickle heaven, Ally."

Oops. She must have said that first part out loud. "We're in a pickle factory. And this isn't even the surprise."

She turns her head to look at him excitedly. "It's not?"

He shakes his head. "They're letting you make your own batch to take home. The "Ally Dawson" recipe. Someone's about to come in here to show you how they do it and everything."

She thinks this might be the weirdest first date that anyone could have ever conceived, but then again, it's Austin, and he knows her better than anyone else. She looks at him, standing there grinning with his hands in his pockets in front of a wall of pickles, and she lets out a laugh at how _absurd_ it all is.

"This is so ridiculous."

He looks worried. "You don't like it?"

She shakes her head quickly. "No, are you kidding? I love it! I get to learn about the science of pickle making!" She rubs her hands together in anticipation and he laughs. "I just can't believe that you would even think to do this," she says.

He shrugs nonchalantly. "Yeah, so I shut down a whole pickle factory for you, no big deal."

She grins at him. "So _this _is the rock star treatment, huh?"

They stay there for a little over an hour and walk out carrying two boxes, full of jars that contain her custom pickles and it's almost dark out when they load them in the trunk and get in the car.

"Are you ready for the next part?"

She looks at him, surprised. "There's a next part? I'm pretty sure you won't ever be able to top this."

"I wasn't even going to try. I was thinking we could just get dinner?" He puts a hand on his stomach and winces. "I think I need to eat something besides pickles."

She leans over and pats his cheek. "You're weak." Her stomach makes a growling noise and she blushes. "But also probably right."

They get dinner at her favorite Italian restaurant a few blocks from the water, a fancy place with cloth napkins and a string quartet, because she's Ally and he knows that she has a not-so-secret fondness for all things girly and romantic. They order a bottle of wine to split but she's a little bit more tipsy than he is by the end of the night because he keeps toasting her every two minutes in congratulations.

She looks at him suspiciously as he pours the last of the wine into her glass. "I think you're trying to get me drunk."

He looks up at her, his eyes innocent. "Why would I do that?"

Her eyes narrow as she picks up the glass and takes a sip despite herself. "I think you—" She points at him. "—Might be trying to get lucky."

He claps a hand over his heart and gasps. "I would _never_!"

She props her head on her hand and blinks at him through her eyelashes, the wine giving her a bit of courage. "Oh, really?" She smiles. "Then you don't need to know that I didn't need it."

He looks confused before his eyes widen in understanding, and she sees him swallow. "That...that's...um, useful information anyway," he fumbles, and she purses her lips as she tries not to laugh.

They leave the restaurant hand in hand and wander around the corner onto the empty boardwalk and walk to the edge, resting their arms on the railing to look out over the dark water. She leans into him after a minute and he wraps his arm around her as she rests her head on his shoulder. They are silent for a few minutes, listening to the sound of the waves, before he speaks.

"Do you think we would've gotten here eventually, no matter what?" He's talking about them, she realizes.

She looks up at him to see that he's still staring out over the water. "Why?"

"I don't know." He hesitates. "I guess I'm asking if you ever saw this—us—happening, or ever wanted it to happen, before it actually did."

She doesn't respond right away and turns her eyes back to the ocean, trying to find the right words. "I...I thought about it a little, over the years. I mean, honestly, how could I have not? But I suppose I kind of accepted that you didn't feel that way, so I never pushed it or really tried anything. But then, in Miami...in Miami, the way you looked at me after we got off the stage..." She looks up at him now. "The look in your eyes, it was…I don't know, I can't even describe it. It made me think that maybe you were feeling…more."

He nods and looks at her. "So you never thought I felt more earlier?"

She shrugs. "There were a couple of moments, I suppose, but I didn't dwell on them. I mean, we've both dated in the last few years and it was never weird between us."

She pauses, recalling one of the worst fights they had ever had, when she refused to speak to him for two full days. He had said something incredibly rude and completely out of character to her for coming to rehearsal ten minutes late after she had been on a date and it had turned into a screaming match, ending in Austin leaving by slamming the door so hard that she felt the floor shake as she stood there, silent in the middle of the room, angry tears streaming down her face. "Um, usually."

She wonders if he's remembering the same thing because his mouth is tense and his eyes are unreadable as he lets out a breath. He removes his arm from around her and leans heavily on the railing, burying his face in his hands. His voice is muffled when he says, "You should probably know that I was _insanely _jealous that night. I realized two steps out the door that it was because I liked you and then I didn't know what to do. Especially because you dated that idiot for a month after that."

"He was not an idiot. Just…boring," she says distractedly, trying to figure out the timeline. The fight had been a little over a year ago and her eyes widen in realization. "That's what Trish said," she says without thinking, and he turns his head slowly to look at her.

"Trish said what?"

Crap. "Um, nothing?"

"Ally…"

She sighs. "Oh, all right. She told me that you realized that you liked me last year. And they had a pool going on when we would get together. That they started many, many years ago. And Dez's dad won."

His eyes narrow when she tells him about the pool. He stands up straight and faces her.

"What do you mean, a _pool_?"

She rolls her eyes. "I mean a pool, Austin. They bet money on when we would get together? Dez's dad guessed my 23rd birthday and apparently he was the closest. The rest of them lost a long time ago."

"Them?"

"That's what I asked. Apparently, everyone we've ever known was in on it. Including your great grandmother! Who I've only ever met once! For like, ten minutes!"

"Wow," he says. "At least someone got rich off of us. I wonder how much it was for."

She shrugs and they fall silent for a few minutes until she starts shivering from a cool breeze that blows past them as the temperature begins to drop. He glances over at her. "Ready to go?"

She nods. "Yeah."

They're both sober by now and they walk quickly to the car. He drives in the direction of her house and she's suddenly nervous, not exactly sure what she's ready for yet but she knows that she doesn't want the night to end. Her palms are a little sweaty when he pulls into her driveway and she stumbles getting out of the car, blushing, when his arm shoots out to steady her.

"I think this is the part when I walk you to your door and say goodnight," he says.

She nods slowly. "I think you're right."

He follows her to the door and she turns around to face him. He takes a step closer and wraps his arms around her waist, drawing her to him, and she puts her arms around his neck and stands on her tiptoes as he kisses her softly. They break apart and breathe after a minute, their faces inches away from one another. "Good night, Ally," he whispers.

He moves to pull away but she cups his cheeks with her hands and kisses him again, feeling a surge of confidence, not wanting him to leave. She pulls away after a few seconds and he takes the opportunity to kiss the corner of her mouth, her cheeks, her temple, as she tries to compose herself enough to speak. "You should—oh—you should come in."

He pulls back and smirks. "Ally Dawson! On the first date?" he teases.

She rolls her eyes but the effect is diminished by the fact that she's still breathing kind of heavily. "We've already skipped a bunch of steps. Besides, I thought we talked about…" She moves her face closer to his and drops her voice to a whisper. "…Getting lucky?"

She whirls around to unlock the door and steps inside, toeing off her wedges as she looks over her shoulder to see him still standing outside, his eyes wide. "Well? Are you coming?"

She walks into the living room without waiting for him and then collapses on the couch in shock, not really believing that she had just done that, but the fading effects of the wine and his eyes and his hands had turned her into some sort of…teasing...tease. She buries her head in her hands, mortified, but sits up quickly when she hears his footsteps turning the corner.

He walks into the living room and sits next to her on the sofa so their shoulders are almost touching and then he turns to her, a dazed expression on his face. "That was so _unbelievably hot_."

She reddens and looks everywhere but his eyes. "Oh no. I have no idea what came over me. That was so embarrassing."

He laughs and bumps her shoulder with his. "Um, _definitely_ not embarrassing. But obviously the whole going out with a rock star thing is driving you crazy."

She starts to roll her eyes but his words remind her of earlier that night and she shoots up. "The pickles!"

He grabs her hand and pulls her back down. "It's okay, Ally. I'll bring them in. You stay here."

She walks over to the front door and watches him pile the boxes on top of one another and moves aside as he walks to the kitchen and sets them down on the table. She leans against the counter and twirls a piece of her hair as she looks at him. "That was so…chivalrous of you."

He looks up from wiping his hands on his pants. "What was?"

She takes a step closer to him and she's still a little embarrassed from earlier but she decides not to think about it anymore. "You know, carrying in those boxes. Like a manly…man…man."

The corner of his mouth tilts up. "Oh yeah?"

She's right in front of him now. "Yeah," she whispers, before closing the distance between them, her arms wrapping around his neck as she presses him into the counter behind him. If it's painful to have a granite counter digging into his back, he doesn't say anything about it, but instead puts his arms around her waist and tilts his head to get a better angle. She's on her tiptoes, standing between his legs, when he suddenly spins around and lifts her up so she's sitting on the counter.

She huffs, a little indignant about being manhandled, but then his tongue is swirling around hers and she realizes that she _really _doesn't care. He's leaning awkwardly against her knees because she's wearing a fairly tight dress and he couldn't get closer even if he wanted to. Which she can tell he does. She's regretting her wardrobe choice as he fails to pull her toward him so they separate and he rests his forehead on hers, his breathing heavy.

"This isn't working," he says, and she must look worried because he quickly adds, "Not you and me. _Never_ not you and me. This counter. And your stupid dress."

She lifts her head and raises an eyebrow.

"I mean, this gorgeous, no doubt really expensive dress that you look beautiful in?" he says, grinning hopefully.

She grins back. "It's a stupid dress, Austin." She hops down from the counter and takes his hand as he steps back and leads him into the living room. She pauses at the edge of the rug, thinking, before walking over to the couch and they stare at each other for a second but then he reaches for her.

"Let's try this again," he murmurs before kissing her and his hand comes up to rest between her shoulder blades. His fingers are splayed out, and from pinky to thumb, his hand nearly spans the width of her back. He's so much bigger than her, she realizes not for the first time, but she likes that he is, likes that she can get completely wrapped up in him to the point that she can't feel anything else. She lifts her hands into the hair at the base of his neck and sits up on her knees, deepening the kiss. His hands move down to tighten around her waist and he leans back on the couch so she's half on top of him.

This is moving a little faster than she thought it would and she briefly thinks about stopping before his hands shift so they're on her sides and his thumbs are right under her breasts. She inhales sharply and then she moves until she's fully on top of him so she's seated sideways on his lap. His hands slowly move back down to her waist and she breaks away from his mouth after a minute to breathe and he stares at her, his hair messy, cheeks flushed, and his eyes darker than she's ever seen them.

"Um, so that definitely worked better?" she says, blushing.

He looks like he wants to reach for her again but doesn't, instead letting his head fall back on the couch as he exhales loudly. "I should get going," he says, then lifts his head to look at her for a long moment. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

She nods, reddening further, before moving off of him and standing up.

He stands, too, and she walks him to the door, waiting while he slips on his shoes and picks up his keys. She opens the door and he steps down onto the porch before turning back to her and really, she expects it when he kisses her again.

She swallows. "You should _really_ get going."

* * *

Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	6. If All We Are Is Just A Moment

Disclaimer: _Austin and Ally_ belongs to Disney. Not me.

Warnings: Rating is now M.

* * *

Austin comes over to her house again the next day to start working on the songs for her album and she's surprised at how productive they are considering last night's events. It's actually mostly business as usual, except that their arms brush and their hands touch on the piano a little more often. She wants to finish their conversation about the whole taking a break thing but she's not exactly sure how to bring it up.

They eat lunch together on the small patio in her backyard when they have half a song written and when they're done she goes inside to wash the dishes and clean up. He's sprawled out on the grass when she comes back outside with a bowl of watermelon and she smiles as she walks over. His eyes are closed and he doesn't react even when she's standing directly above him and she realizes that he's asleep as she watches his chest rise and fall evenly. He finally stirs and rolls over onto his side when she sits down cross-legged next to him, her fingers reaching out to idly play with a blade of grass.

"This is nice," he says, blinking up at her.

"It is," she agrees and reaches for the bowl of watermelon. "Want some?"

He takes a piece with his fingers and pops it into his mouth as she does the same and they lay there for a few minutes, silent, the bowl of fruit between them, and she feels like she could stay here forever under the warm sun by his side in the cool grass.

"Hey, Austin?"

"Mmm," he says drowsily.

She pokes him lightly in the chest and his eyes open. "We need to talk."

"About what?" he asks, rolling over on his back away from her.

She leans forward so her face is above his. "You. And this whole 'break' thing. I need to know what you're thinking."

He squints up at her and sighs. "Right now, I'm thinking that I want to take a nap. And I'm also thinking that you're not going to let me."

She frowns. "Come on, Austin, this is serious."

"All right, all right." He folds his hands under his head and looks past her at the cloudless sky above them. "You know I love what I do, Ally, I really do, but I can only dance around under strobe lights for so long before I don't know, my knees give out or something and performing that song with you in Miami…it made me want to kind of slow things down, maybe try something different."

She half smiles. "Your knees? How old are you again?"

He rolls his eyes. "That's just an example. And like I said yesterday, I'm just...not sure. But right now, this feels really good. Not worrying about writing songs or recording an album or going on tour or learning new choreography or making TV appearances."

He looks at her now. "Getting to just _be_ with you without constantly thinking about my career? Going to the beach? Taking _naps_? I've been completely relaxed these past few weeks for the first time in probably, what, four years? And it's amazing."

She opens her mouth to speak but he continues. "I know I'll get bored soon which is why I'm saying I just need a break. I'm not quitting. Not even close to quitting. Just...a few months to wind down a little." He hesitates and looks at her nervously. "I already called Trish this morning to tell her."

Ally's eyes widen. "You did? What did she say?"

"She was surprised, obviously. I'm actually more surprised you hadn't already said something to her."

She frowns. "I wasn't sure how sure _you _were."

He nods. "Anyway, once she stopped yelling at me, she said she understood. And that she was kind of glad because she knows she's going to have a lot of work soon managing you. She's going to ask the record company about me, though. And by ask, I mean tell. So I guess I don't really need to worry about that for a while, either."

She raises her eyebrows. "That's Trish. I guess I hadn't really thought about…being managed. Cool."

He laughs and moves an arm out from under his head to nudge her shoulder. "It is cool. Look at you, being managed."

She smiles and studies his features. "You're sure about this?" she asks quietly.

"I'm positive," he says, and then takes her by the arm and pulls so she's half on top of him and her chin lands painfully on his chest. She huffs out a surprised breath as she lifts her head and glares at him. "Ow."

He grins sheepishly at her. "That was supposed to be smoother."

"I'm sure," she says dryly, and shifts so that she's propped up on her forearms, resting on his chest, and looks down at him. She has the sudden urge to kiss him, so she does, her eyes closing as she tilts her head down. He meets her halfway and then she follows him as he lowers his head so it's resting on the ground and his arms wrap around her waist when she pulls back after a minute.

He slowly opens his eyes. "Should we go back inside to finish the song?" he asks.

"Probably," she answers, and then leans down to kiss him again.

* * *

She has her first photo shoot a couple of days later for an up and coming magazine that she'll be featured in. She's nervous because this is the first time she's ever done something like this and she has no idea how to pose or what to do with her face and she's terrified that she's going to look like an idiot. Austin offers to come with her but she declines because she thinks that she'll probably be more nervous if he's looking at her. Instead, she takes Dez, figuring that his years behind the camera will mean that he has some advice to give about how to look her best when she's in front of one.

Like Austin, Dez had grown up in important ways but he's still a little left of center compared to the rest of them. She hadn't had that much in common with him when they were younger but over the years they had built a kind of unique relationship that she still doesn't really know how to describe because they're both insightful and intelligent and see things that Trish and Austin sometimes miss. She trusts him and he turns out to actually be pretty useful by giving her helpful advice when the photographer seems to get a little exasperated with her awkwardness.

She gets to take a break before they shoot the final picture and he follows her into the dressing room they're letting her use for the day.

"You got a lot better toward the end," he comments. "I think you just need time to get used to it."

She smiles. "Thanks. It's just weird to be in the spotlight. And to be doing it alone. And to be making those faces, you know?"

He nods. "Believe it or not, Austin had trouble at the very beginning, too. When he did his first national magazine cover the pictures were awful. They had probably four usable ones out of the four hundred."

She looks at him in disbelief. "Austin was camera shy?"

Dez shrugs. "It was weird, I know, but I think it hit him right at that moment that his face would be plastered in stores all over the country and he got really awkward. Uh, it kind of reminded me of you, actually."

"Gee, thanks," she says dryly. She pauses. "But that kind of makes me feel better."

"I knew it would," he says perkily.

She laughs and then they fall into a comfortable silence for a few minutes as she scans through a previous edition of the magazine she's going to be in but then he clears his throat.

He opens his mouth to say something and then hesitates, which is something she has _never_ seen him do because he's not exactly someone who filters what comes out of his mouth and she's so surprised that she holds her breath as she waits for him to speak.

"I've never seen him this happy before, Ally," he says and of course she knows what he's talking about because his voice is so sincere and genuine and honest and he's so clearly so _happy_ for them that she stands up and wraps her arms around him without a second thought because he's her best friend too and this means a lot.

"Thanks, Dez," she whispers as she lets him go. "I've never been happier either."

He grins at her when they pull apart. "So does this mean you'll come to me when you need a love whisperer?"

* * *

Between writing songs for her album, Trish had been booking Ally at small venues across LA so she can practice performing and now she's at the first one since she and Austin started dating. She stands backstage and she's pleasantly surprised that she's less nervous than she thought she'd be as the opening act finishes. Finally, she hears her name being announced and walks onto the stage confidently, despite stumbling slightly as she walks up to the microphone.

She sees Austin and Trish and Dez together in the fourth row and Austin grins and gives her two thumbs up in encouragement. She sends a small smile in their direction before taking a deep breath and starting her first song, and it's as if nothing matters anymore and all she can think about is the music. She thinks she'll never get used to this feeling and she wonders again why she waited this long because it's almost like a drug to her now, addicting and consuming and maybe a little bit dangerous.

She receives a standing ovation when she finishes her set, her first one ever, and she's grinning so hard her cheeks start to hurt and her chest feels like it's about to burst.

She waves to the audience as she walks off the stage and takes a deep breath as she tries to calm her wildly beating heart. She looks up to see Austin, Trish and Dez coming towards her and they start speaking excitedly all at once before wrapping her in a tight embrace.

When they separate, Trish looks at her, beaming. "That was even better than last time, Ally! If you keep performing like that, your concerts are going to sell out in a heartbeat."

Dez grins at her. "This is going to get like, millions of views once I put it online."

She looks over at Austin, who is being uncharacteristically silent, but then he lunges forward like he can't resist any longer and wraps his arms tightly around her. "You were amazing," he whispers into her hair.

She closes her eyes for a second and lets herself sink slightly into him. "Thank you," she whispers back, and then releases him, kissing him on the cheek as they part.

Trish and Dez smirk at each other as they watch them and Austin rolls his eyes while Ally smiles. Dez grins. "You guys aren't that good at PDA, you know. Come on, Ally, all he gets is a kiss on the cheek?"

Austin narrows his eyes at his best friend while Ally laughs. "Oh, you want to see more?" she asks teasingly and steps up to Austin, pulling his head down to hers and his eyes widen almost comically because he was clearly not expecting her to take the bait. She winks, which makes his eyes widen even further, and then she kisses him full on the lips, smiling when she hears Dez whistle loudly. They separate laughing as their best friends in the world grin at them, and she thinks this moment might be one of those perfect ones.

* * *

Their first fight as a couple is worse than any they've ever had as friends. It happens exactly three weeks after their first date and after they've been working on a song for hours because neither of them wants to stop until it's perfect.

They're both tired and he's been pushing her to choose certain lyrics that she's not happy with and she's getting more and more frustrated and angry and slightly confused at how stubborn he's being. It's 2:54 am when she finally snaps, standing up and storming away from the piano bench.

"This is _my _song, Austin, _my _album. I never—_never_—tried to push anything on you this hard when you didn't like my ideas when I was writing for you!"

He stands up too, his eyes narrowing. "Are you _kidding_ me? You sometimes pushed through lyrics when I didn't really like them! I barely ever argued because I knew you'd react like this!"

Her eyes widen in shock. "React like what? Offended? Insulted? That you, someone who can barely string two words together, is trying to tell me, a _professional songwriter_, how to write my own songs?"

He reddens and glares at the floor for a second before turning his eyes back up to hers, his mouth tense. "So that's what you think of me? I'm just some idiot who can barely string two words together?"

She lets out a frustrated sound and ignores the urge to pull on her hair. "Sometimes! Sometimes, yes, Austin! Those lyrics...your lyrics are just…they're just shitty!"

He takes a step closer to her, his eyes flashing. "Oh yeah? And who the hell is the one of us that has three _triple-platinum_ albums with his name on them? How is that possible, if I'm so fucking stupid, Ally!" he yells, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.

She can feel her face getting hot. "Oh, I don't know," she says sarcastically, and he glares at her. "Because _I'm_ the one who wrote the goddamn songs for you?"

He shakes his head in apparent disbelief. "Then maybe you should just stick to writing for me, if you're so great at it! You're obviously not very good at writing for yourself, because those lyrics that you want to use are _fucking_ terrible."

Her eyes widen as she physically takes a step back. "Get out," she whispers, looking straight at him.

He opens his mouth to say something, closes it, and opens it again before he shakes his head angrily and stalks past her. She hears him grab his keys before the door slams and she hears tires squealing as he pulls away.

Her hands are trembling and she walks to the couch, sinking slowly into the cushions. She exhales slowly and closes her eyes, trying to slow her heart rate as she rests her elbows on her knees and thinks about what just happened.

She doesn't cry, but she sits there for a long time, silent and unmoving until she's worn out enough to go to bed. A few tears slide down her cheeks when she's curled up under the covers and she furiously wipes them away before turning her face into the pillow and then she finally lets her heart break just a little bit.

* * *

Reviews are much appreciated!


	7. Don't Forget Me 'Cause I Won't

Disclaimer: _Austin and Ally_ belongs to Disney.

Warning: M for a reason

* * *

Ally cleans her house from top to bottom for eight hours straight the day after their fight until her hands are red and she has a headache from sneezing. She doesn't answer his phone calls, texts, or e-mails for two more days after that until he finally shows up at her front door the following morning.

He knocks twice and she takes a deep breath before she answers the door, schooling her features into a blank expression.

If she's being honest with herself she's actually more confused than angry because the actual words they had said to one another were shallow insults that neither of them obviously meant but the fact that it had escalated so far over something as trivial as _lyrics_ makes her nervous because she has no idea where it came from.

He looks exhausted, reflecting how she feels, and she silently takes a step back to let him come in, her eyes never leaving his face. He hesitantly takes a step inside and closes the door behind him and he looks over her shoulder for a second before bringing his eyes to hers. "I'm_ so_ sorry, Ally. You have to know that I didn't mean any of it."

She sighs tiredly. "I know, Austin. Me either. Come inside."

She walks into the kitchen where she busies herself by straightening a dishcloth while he sits down at the table. She looks at him from across the room and leans back against the sink, crossing her arms. "Why did you want me to use those lyrics so badly?" she asks quietly.

He looks down at the table, his hands nervously fiddling with his necklace. "You'll think it's stupid."

She frowns. "Tell me."

He sighs and looks up at her. "We became partners because I couldn't write songs, right? I needed you. And you needed me. Without you, there was no way I could have ended up where I did. And without me, you couldn't have shared your music with the world."

He pauses for a second and looks down again. "But now, you're pursuing the same thing—which I'm really happy about—but the difference is that you don't _need_ me. You're _so _talented, Ally, on your own, and I—" he breaks off, taking a breath before locking his eyes with hers.

"I don't really know if I was conscious of all of that when I said those…things." He grimaces. "But I've realized it since then. I think…I wanted to show you that I was useful and important to your dream, too."

She's silent for a moment as she walks over to join him at the table and she feels any remaining anger diffuse because she thinks she finally understands. "Do you really think that's all it is? Our partnership is just based on mutual need?" she asks.

He shrugs and avoids her eyes.

"Austin…" She trails off because she doesn't exactly know what to say. She's supposed to be the insecure one and she's not used to being in this position. "You're right, you know. I _don't_ need you."

His eyes widen as they look up to hers and he opens his mouth to speak, but she continues.

"I _want_ you," she says, her face serious. "Our partnership might have started out like that, but we haven't needed each other for a long time. You think I couldn't have found other people to sing my songs? Especially after your first album was such a success? And once you got a record deal, don't you remember how many offers you got from other songwriters? Famous songwriters, who had multiple hits under their belts?"

He shakes his head. "But Ally, it's…it's not the same. You can do all of it yourself—the music, the writing, everything, but I—"

She cuts him off. "You're wrong, and you're overestimating my ability. Which is really nice, but it's just not true. If you weren't helping me, all my songs would be serious and sad and not very appealing. And…I guess I can admit that you're more musically talented than me."

He looks up at her, his eyebrows raised in disbelief, and she smiles. "You are! I might be good at writing rhymes and lyrics, but you sometimes hear things that I don't, and see things that I can't, and it's…it's hard to explain."

She pauses, thinking. "You're a natural at it, Austin, you really are, whereas I've had to work _so_ hard to be good at this. And I used to be really jealous of you for it. Sometimes I still am."

He doesn't say anything for a few seconds. "Your lyrics weren't terrible," he finally says.

"Thanks. And yours…yours…um, let's face it, they were pretty bad," she says, grinning, and he laughs.

"I probably shouldn't have tried to rhyme 'back' with 'back' for three lines in a row."

She smiles, and then her face becomes serious. "I'm really sorry, Austin. I didn't mean what I said, either. You're not stupid, or an idiot, and…it was awful."

He nods and looks at her. "I don't really want to talk about it anymore."

"Okay," she says. She stands up and walks around to his side of the table and then slides into his lap and wraps her arms around his neck. He smiles as she leans in close and she feels hands coming up to rest on her hips.

"Then let's not talk about it anymore."

* * *

A little less than 24 hours before her album releases, Ally is a nervous wreck. She can't sleep, can't eat, can't _breathe_ without thinking about how it's going to be received, the reviews it's going to get and how many people are going to buy it.

At 3 am, she finally gets out of bed and picks up her phone. He answers on the sixth ring.

"Ally, if your house isn't on fire, I don't want to hear it," he mumbles sleepily.

She cringes. "I'm sorry, Austin. I just…I can't sleep. I'm freaking out."

"Ally—"

"Can I come over?"

"Now?"

"Now."

He sighs. "Yeah, of course."

She's on her way out the door before he even finishes answering and gets to his house in record time because the streets are deserted this early in the morning. She rings the doorbell and stands there, waiting.

He answers the door shirtless and bleary eyed and he wordlessly steps aside to let her in and then turns around and heads in the direction of his bedroom.

She slips off her shoes and hurries after him but then she stops at the doorway because this is still strange and new and different. He's already on his stomach under the covers and his face is turned away from her. She stares at him and uneasily wrings her hands together because she doesn't exactly know what to do. "If you're just going to stare at me, can you do it when I'm awake?" he asks, his voice muffled. "This is kind of weird."

She blushes even though he can't see her and slowly walks toward the bed before quickly making up her mind and sliding under the covers. She lies on her back rigidly and stares at the ceiling wide-eyed and nervous and then he rolls over to face her and she turns her head when she feels his eyes on her.

"Come here," he whispers, and then she's curled into him in a second as his arms wrap around her. She buries her face in his neck and breathes as his hand lightly rubs her back and he doesn't say anything else but she doesn't need him to because all she really needs is him. The hair on his legs is tickling her bare ones and she's starting to get uncomfortably warm and she's pretty sure his arm that's under her is going to fall asleep soon, but her eyelids are starting to get heavy and she welcomes the feeling as she finally drifts off to sleep.

* * *

She wakes up because she's cold and finds herself at the very edge of the bed without anything covering her as sunlight filters in through the windows. She turns her head to the side to see Austin sprawled on his stomach, his limbs everywhere, with all the bedding tangled around his legs. She blinks at him for a second, wondering how that was even physically possible before reaching for the edge of the blanket, and then she pulls it as hard as she can.

He hardly even moves but she manages to get enough of it to wrap around herself and rolls closer to his warmth. She rises up on her elbow and looks over his shoulder at the alarm clock to see that it's 10 am and collapses back down on the bed, knowing that she can't go back to sleep. She looks at him, his hair in disarray, his face relaxed, and she sighs before attempting the nearly impossible task of waking up Austin Moon.

"Austin," she says. "Austin, wake up."

Nothing. She frowns. "Austin."

She tries shoving him lightly, but he just rolls away from her, taking her half of the blanket with him. She sighs in exasperation and then narrows her eyes as an idea forms in her head.

She wiggles closer to him and positions herself so her mouth is next to his ear.

"If you wake up I'll make you pancakes," she whispers, and within a matter of seconds, he's awake and turning his head to face her.

"Pancakes?" he asks, his voice hopeful, and she grins.

"Sure, why not? But we should get up—today's kind of a big day," she says.

"There's 14 hours until your album comes out, Ally," he says dryly, but sits up anyway, rubbing his face, and the scratchy sound makes her look over at him. There's a hint of stubble on his face a few shades darker than his hair and it's something she's not used to and that in combination with his bare chest makes her stare at him for a little longer than what's probably considered appropriate.

But then she snaps out of it when he waves a hand in front of her face and she stands up quickly and walks to the bathroom. "Hey, do you have a spare toothbrush I can use?" she calls from inside, trying to keep her voice normal.

"Uh, yeah, look in the bottom drawer," he answers, and she looks up to see him in the doorway. He yawns and stretches, extending his arms to the ceiling, and she forces herself to look away, trying to remind herself that today is important—her album drops at midnight tonight—and that she shouldn't be…distracted because she needs to be ready in case anything goes wrong.

He seems oblivious to her inner struggle as he walks to the sink to brush his teeth, and she joins him after grabbing the toothbrush. They exchange glances in the mirror a few times before looking away from one another, and she practically runs out of the bathroom to the kitchen when she's done. He comes out a couple of minutes later wearing a T-shirt, his hair slightly tamer.

She gathers the ingredients to make the pancakes and turns on the stove as he sits at the counter and he rests his head in his hand as he watches her.

"You probably shouldn't get used to this," she warns. "I'm not going to make you pancakes all the time just because we're dating."

"I would never," he says wryly, the corner of his mouth tilting up.

She makes half of them blueberry and half of them chocolate chip and they sit at the counter, side by side. She eats two pancakes in the same time as it takes him to eat six, and when they're done, they sit back with cups of coffee, sipping slowly.

"You're a blanket hog," she says, gently blowing on her steaming mug. "Just an all around terrible…um, sleeping partner."

He raises an eyebrow. "Oh, like you can even talk," he says, and she frowns at him.

"What do you mean?"

He looks at her incredulously. "You're kidding, right? You only kicked me about a thousand times. Why else do you think you were at the edge of the bed? I had to protect myself somehow."

She blushes, mortified. "Are you serious? I had no idea. I didn't…hurt you or anything, did I?"

He laughs. "With your freakishly tiny feet? No way. I'm guessing it was probably because you're nervous."

She nods. "Probably."

"I'll let you know if it happens again," he says, leaning back in his chair.

She reddens further at the implications of _again_ and he grins. "You know, you blush a lot."

"Then you should stop saying things that make me blush." She looks down at her empty plate.

"And…doing things," she mutters under her breath, thinking about earlier that morning, the sheets pooling around his waist as he sat up in bed.

"Not a chance. I like that I can make you blush."

"Then you're lucky, because you'll always make me blush," she says, meeting his eyes.

He leans in close, his lips inches from hers. "Really?" he whispers.

"Yes," she says, before closing the distance between them. He tastes like coffee and maple syrup and _Austin_ and his face is just a little bit scratchy and all of a sudden she can't get enough of him. Their position makes it hard for her to move any closer so she breaks away from him and stands up and takes his hand and leads him into the bedroom before she can think about it too much.

They sit in the middle of the bed and he puts a hand behind her neck before drawing her close as his other arm wraps around her. She circles her arms around his waist, her hands immediately sliding under the bottom of his shirt, wanting to feel the skin she had seen earlier. He makes a sound when he feels her hands on his skin, and then yelps slightly when she pushes her all of her weight into him, making them fall backward onto the bed. Her hands are trapped under him now, but she wiggles them loose and then moves her hands to his sides, slowly rubbing up and down as she kisses him.

He pulls back and looks at her, panting slightly. "Ally…" he says, and swallows, making a last-ditch effort to compose himself. "What…I thought you…your album," he says, knowing that she usually liked to do…calmer things when she was stressed, like reading or listening to music.

"I don't care," she says, because all of a sudden she really, really doesn't, and drags her lips down his neck as she tugs on his shirt. He realizes what she wants and obliges, leaning up slightly to pull it off and then he tosses it somewhere on the floor. His hands shift so they're under the hem of her shirt but he doesn't try anything else, his fingertips rubbing lightly into the bare skin of her back as he tilts his head up to kiss her again.

She kisses him back for a few seconds and then sits up to straddle him with her knees on either side of his hips. He looks confused for a second and then she sees his eyes widen as he watches her move her hands to the bottom of her shirt before she quickly pulls it off. She's not wearing a bra, having rushed over to his house last night in her pajamas, and she blushes as she lets it fall to the floor.

He makes a strangled sound in his throat and he stares at her for a second before reaching for her. She lets him pull her down on top of him and they both groan at the sensation of her bare chest on his, at the contrast between the softness of her body and the solidness of his. She can feel him hardening beneath her and she lets out another moan when he rolls them over so he's on top of her, his weight pressing her firmly into the bed. "Austin…" she practically whines as his fingers lightly skim her sides, not giving her what she wants, what she _needs_ from him.

His mouth latches onto her neck in response and she shivers when he licks the length of her collarbone, the scratch of his unshaven face a strange yet pleasant contrast to the softness of his lips. She feels his hands shift upwards and he lifts his head up to lock his eyes with hers as his fingers skim her breasts lightly. She shudders out an uneven breath and closes her eyes and she lets out a whimper when he lifts the weight of them in his palms.

Her legs press tightly together under him when his mouth closes over one breast as he firmly squeezes the other and she buries her fingers in the hair on the back of his head when his tongue flicks over her nipple, her hand digging almost painfully into the mattress.

She's nearly_ there_, which she's surprised by since he hasn't even touched any part of her below her breasts but this is Austin and they've both been waiting a long time for this, for each other. She tugs lightly on his hair to pull him up and she's breathless when she sees his face, his cheeks flushed and his mouth wet, the sunlight through the windows lighting his eyes and hair. He props himself on his elbows above her and looks down and he's so close the ends of his hair are brushing her forehead.

"God, Ally," he says, and she kisses him in response and then tugs him down so he's fully on top of her. She tries to roll them over but she's not strong enough and she hears him laugh a little as he shifts so they're on their sides, facing each other.

She's not prepared to do _that_ with him yet but the ache between her legs is growing stronger, so she takes a deep breath before taking his hand and placing it low on her stomach. She's suddenly shy as she looks at him and he draws his head forward to kiss her as his fingers rub slow circles into her skin. He leans into her so she's on her back as his hand slips under the waistband of her pajama shorts but he doesn't stop kissing her even as he pushes them down.

She gasps into his mouth when his fingers brush her center through her underwear and then his fingers are suddenly on her as he pulls them to the side. She breaks the kiss, her head falling back on the bed, and his lips are on her neck as he swirls his fingers around and around and around.

She abruptly jerks up and bumps her head with his when one finger and then two slip inside her as his thumb lightly flicks over her most sensitive spot and his tongue licks patterns into her neck. She breathes heavily against him in a way that she will blush over later and he's whispering something into her throat but she can't hear him over the rushing in her ears and the pounding of her heart.

She's so _close_. "Aust—Austin…I n-need…"

Then, _then_, he curves his fingers and presses down with his thumb and she implodes calling out his name as her body trembles around him and her vision goes white.

His fingers are no longer inside her but his thumb is still circling slowly as she comes down from her high and she takes a deep breath, trying to calm down her rapidly pounding heart. He slowly removes his hand and she briefly sees him examine his fingers, wet and shiny, before he puts them in his mouth, and her mind goes _blank_. She bites her lip painfully and his eyes are intense as he watches her watch him lick his fingers clean and she burns the image into her brain to examine later because she can't even begin to _process—_

She stares at his mouth for a few seconds before her mind clears enough for her to realize that he must still be struggling to maintain self-control, and she pushes him onto his back and rolls with him so she's half on top of him. His eyes are closed and his jaw is clenched and she has a feeling he's already pretty close. She runs her fingers slowly down his stomach before slipping her hand under his boxers and he exhales loudly when her fingertips brush over his length.

"A-Ally…" he mumbles as she strokes him with her hand, and she moves up slightly to kiss him, realizing that she's tasting _herself_, but it isn't as weird as she thought it would be.

He's a little bigger than she had expected and because she's Ally, she worries a little about…later activities, but pushes the thought to the back of her mind when his hand reaches into her hair to deepen the kiss. She lets him kiss her for a little bit but then pulls away so she can focus completely on making him let go because she wants to watch him unravel. She sees his other hand tightly clench the bed sheet before he does, his eyes squeezing shut as he releases and he moans loudly. She watches him as he slowly regains his mind and then she removes her hand.

"Jesus, Ally," he says, groaning. "I think you're going to kill me."

"I think I might already be dead," she replies, and collapses on top of him, sighing contentedly.

They lie there in silence for a few minutes as his fingers lazily rub back and forth over her shoulder and she almost dozes off with his chest warm under her cheek. She feels incredibly relaxed and her worries about the album seem far away and unimportant as she counts the beats of his heart under her palm, constant and steady and solid.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Reviews make me happy.


	8. Every Evening When I Turn Out The Lights

Disclaimer: _Austin and Ally_ is not mine. Nope.

Warnings: Rated M

* * *

Ally travels around the country for the next three weeks to promote her album and she's a little bewildered when people come up to her asking for autographs and pictures and hugs. She had kind of forgotten that fame comes with the territory of being a singer, so it takes her a while to wrap her head around the fact that people are lining up to see _her_.

There are girls of all ages that come up and tell her that she inspires them and ask her for tips about overcoming their fears and their stage fright and it's overwhelming at first before she realizes that she actually _has_ insights to share and advice to give.

She goes on the trip with Trish, not Austin, because he wants to keep a low profile, afraid that his presence might shift focus of the press and the fans to him instead of her. It's a valid concern, as the media is buzzing with the rumor that Austin Moon is taking an indefinite break from music, but he flies out to join her in New York on the last day so they can spend the weekend together in the city.

Ally goes with Trish to the airport to see her off because she has some business to take care of in LA. Austin's plane gets in right after Trish goes through security so she waits in baggage claim, settling down with a book.

She quickly gets lost in the story and only looks up when something—someone—casts a shadow over her. Austin stands in front of her smiling, wearing sunglasses, his blond hair peeking out of a baseball cap.

"Only you would ignore me because of a book," he teases, looking around carefully before taking his sunglasses off.

She blushes. "I didn't mean to ignore you," she protests. "I just…kinda forgot about you for a sec."

"Oh, because that's so much better," he says sarcastically, but he's grinning.

"Shut up," she says and stands up, putting the book in her bag before looking at him fully. She raises an eyebrow. "You know the whole sunglasses-and-hat-indoors thing just draws more attention to you, right?"

He frowns. "I can't help it. My hair is too recognizable."

She laughs and then kisses him then, rising up on her tiptoes as his arms wrap around her waist.

"That was what I expected to get the second I saw you," he says, when they part.

She trails her fingers down his arm to take his hand and sighs, shaking her head. "You should probably lower your expectations. You're just setting yourself up for disappointment."

She starts leading him to the waiting car but stops when she feels him tug on her hand, and she turns around to face him. "You will never disappoint me," he says quietly and she looks at him in surprise, her heart melting just a little bit. His face is serious and she stares at him for a moment before embracing him, and his arms are around her in an instant. "I might have missed you," he whispers into her hair and okay, her heart is officially a puddle on the ground. "Just a little bit."

"Yeah?" she whispers back, tightening her arms around him. "That's good, because I might have missed you a little bit, too."

* * *

Ally is sitting on the bed in their hotel room, TV remote in hand, while she waits for Austin to finish taking a quick shower before they go out to dinner. She leans back on the pillows and flips lazily through the channels but nothing really catches her interest. She sighs and turns it off, getting up to look out the windows instead. Trish, of course, had booked them a deluxe room overlooking Central Park and she watches the building lights brighten in the slowly dimming sky.

She spins around when she hears something behind her but it's only Austin coming out of the bathroom door, a towel slung low on his hips and his hair a little damp around his ears, his skin slightly wet. Her mouth goes a little dry and she stares at him with wide eyes as he fumbles with his suitcase, looking for his clothes. He looks up. "What's wrong?" he asks, concern evident in his voice. "You're not blinking."

She snaps out of it when she hears his voice and blushes, avoiding his eyes. She sees the realization dawn on his face and curses herself for being so obvious about it when he raises an eyebrow. "You're blushing again."

"No, I'm not. I'm just shocked at how…bad you look," she says, reddening further.

"Oh yeah?" he asks, grinning, and he starts walking towards her but she holds her hands out and jumps back slightly, averting her eyes. "No! No! You stay over there. You're all…wet and…and gross! Yeah! Gross!"

He doesn't break his stride and is now standing right in front of her. "And you're going to get me all wet and we're going to miss our dinner reservations, and…" she says half heartedly, trailing off when he brings his hands to her wrists, slowly lowering her arms and stepping closer to her.

She feels a little light headed as she watches a drop of water run down his chest before disappearing into the towel around his hips and she licks her lips unconsciously as his hands tighten around her wrists before lifting her eyes to his.

She tries to pull herself together one more time. "You should…you should get dressed," she says weakly. "Um…I heard this restaurant is really—"

She's cut off when he kisses her and it's like something explodes inside of her because she feels like she's on fire and she can't get close enough to him. He releases her wrists and her hands are dragging down his stomach a second later before moving around to his back and it suddenly hits her just her how much she had really missed him, missed _them_.

She leans all her weight into him, pressing flush against his chest, and he stumbles back slightly until the back of his legs hit the bed behind them. She does it again and he lets himself fall back, moving up so she can follow. She stands over him at the edge of the bed and looks down at him for a second before crawling forward and straddling him, the towel dangerously close to falling off.

She can barely see the ring of hazel around his dilated pupils as she leans down to kiss him and his hand comes up to cup the back of her head lightly. She can feel him getting hard under her and she shivers a little, feeling a familiar wetness growing, and then she breaks away and scoots down his legs, coming to a stop at his knees. She bends forward slightly and looks up at him, seeing his eyes widen in realization at what she's about to do.

"Ally…" he says weakly. "Y-you know I don't expect…you…you don't have to—"

He stops talking when she moves her hand to the towel and slowly loosens the knot at his hip before undoing it, letting it fall to the side. She brings her eyes up to his face to see that his eyes are wide and his mouth is slightly open, before taking a deep breath and lowering her head.

Ally's had sex before but she's never done _this_ so she doesn't exactly know what she's doing when she draws her tongue out, giving an experimental lick. He tastes clean, she supposes, since he just showered, and it's not as intimidating as she thought it would be. He shudders in a breath and she looks up slightly to see his hands are clenched but his eyes are intensely focused on her. She licks up the length of him again before closing her mouth over the tip, swirling her tongue around gently.

He's silent but she can hear his breath catching so she tries taking in a little more of him and he gasps, his hands digging into the mattress. She breathes through her nose and tries a little suction and apparently that's the right thing to do because his hips jerk up and he moans a little. She's a little surprised by the sudden movement but keeps her mouth around him and sucks lightly again, this time moving her hands to hold his hips down gently.

"S-sorry," he whispers and she looks up and hums a reply around him and then he finally squeeze his eyes shut. She does it again and he groans and then she decides that it's time to wrap this up. She rakes her fingers gently across the smooth planes of his stomach as she lowers her mouth on him a little bit more, sucking harder and swirling her tongue. And then, suddenly, he tenses and she prepares herself for it but he abruptly grabs her arm and pulls her off of him.

He finishes, moaning her name, wetness covering his stomach, and she feels oddly disappointed that she wasn't a bigger part of it so she bends her head and licks a little off, wanting to taste him. "Holy shit," he groans as he watches her, his head falling back on the bed when she does it, and it's not bad, she thinks, resolving to stay next time.

He lies there for a minute and catches his breath, a stunned expression on his face, and then uses the towel that's still beneath him to clean off. She slides off of him and waits impatiently for him to finish, the realization that she's still fully clothed making her even more aroused than she already is. The ache between her legs is verging on the edge of being uncomfortable and she squeezes her legs together tightly, letting out an involuntary sound.

They make eye contact and she bites her lip painfully before looking away, her hands unconsciously traveling to the button on her jeans. His eyes follow her movement and he sits up quickly and reaches for her hands. "No way," he says, moving her hands to her sides, and she thinks she might try kicking him if he doesn't do _something _soon. He shifts so she's on her back and he's on top of her, his knees on either side of her hips, and then he pins her hands to the bed.

He's already semi-hard again and she closes her eyes, trying to calm her breathing. He finally lets her hands go and drags his fingers down her body, slowing down over her breasts and lightly brushing over her stomach until he reaches the button on her jeans before slowly undoing them and sliding the zipper down. She lifts her hips a little and he pulls them down and off and his eyes stay on hers the entire time. She bites her lip again and pulls off her sweater as he watches her, shifting so she can sit up slightly.

She lies under him wearing mismatched underwear and a brief flash of self-doubt enters her mind but then she sees his eyes, nearly black with desire, and the ache only grows more intense and any insecurity she might have had completely disappears from her mind.

"Ally," he breathes, looking down at her. "You're so beautiful."

And then he's sliding down her body, tugging off her underwear in the process and she can't think, can't process _anything_. Normally, she would be worrying about how she…is _down there_ but she's nearly too far gone now and she looks down at him with slightly unfocused eyes. He glances up before placing his hands around her slim thighs, opening her legs to him, and then he lowers his head. Her eyes widen in realization, not expecting him to do _that_ and she tries to squeeze her legs shut, her face growing hot.

"Wh-what are you doing? What if…um…what if it's b-bad?" she stammers out, and his grip tightens slightly, holding her legs in place.

He looks up at her, raising an eyebrow. "What's it look like I'm doing?" he asks, and then quickly lowers his head to swipe the entire length of her with his tongue and she nearly screams. He backs up for a second and she moans when she sees him licking his lips, tasting her. "And it's not bad," he says, bending his head again, his tongue relentlessly swirling around her most sensitive spot before slowly licking down again. He sucks in his cheeks a little and her entire body starts to tremble and she thinks she might pass out from the sensation.

All she can see when she looks down is his hair and his eyebrows between her legs and it might be the most erotic thing she's ever laid eyes on. She palms her breast through her bra, needing to do something with her hands, and he looks up slightly when she makes a sound. He moves one hand from her thigh to trail it up her stomach and pushes her bra up to expose her breasts, taking her nipple between his fingers, pinching firmly. His mouth stays on her the entire time and the feeling is absolutely overwhelming.

She's _so_ close, but every time she feels like she's about to go over the edge, he slows down or backs away slightly, making her cry out in frustration. Her skin is overheating and she's moaning incoherently, feeling like she's going insane, when his tongue suddenly pushes _into_ her, his hands gripping her hips tightly to keep her in place, and she _shatters_, her back arching off the bed, her toes curling painfully into the mattress. He doesn't stop even after that, pushing in, out, in as she falls apart around him and she has a brief second of clarity to think, _again?_ before losing herself a second time, a loud moan escaping her throat.

He gives her one last, lingering lick before moving his head away and then he looks up at her. His mouth is shiny and he's panting slightly as he catches his breath and she can't look away as he wipes his mouth with his hand. And then he kneels forward, slipping his hands under her back. She's confused for a second before she feels his fingers unclasp her bra, which is still pushed up over her breasts, and she lifts her arms as he pulls it off before he moves up the length of her body, propping himself up on his elbows as he looks down at her, his face inches away.

He looks like he's debating whether or not to kiss her but she wraps her arms around his back and pulls him down so he's flush on top of her and kisses him without hesitation. All his weight is on her and it's a little harder for her to breathe but she loves this feeling, loves how his larger body can completely envelop her smaller one, and make her feel like she's part of him.

He moves his head back away from her after a minute and tries to roll off of her but she keeps a firm grip around him.

"Stay," she whispers, and he obliges, lowering his head to press his lips to her neck as she closes her eyes.

She's slowly becoming more and more aware that they're both completely naked and she can feel that he's hard again but she can't bring herself to care. Well, she cares about the second thing, but she just wants to lie there for a minute and think about nothing but him and the way he makes her feel. She's been wondering something, though, and tilts her head back so he can look at her.

"Can I ask you something?"

He nods.

"Why—" she hesitates. "Why do you keep waiting for _me _to make a move? Don't you…don't you want…" she trails off, looking at him.

He's silent for a minute. "I kissed you first," he finally says.

"That hardly counts."

He looks past her, his eyes fixated on the alarm clock next to her head. "I'd wait forever for you, Ally."

Her eyes widen and he looks back down at her. "I just—" He pauses. "I just didn't want to do anything that you're not ready for. We're too important. _You're_ too important."

She lifts her head and kisses him softly, her breath catching at the sincerity in his voice, and she knows and feels, in that moment, with every fiber of her being, that he loves her, he _loves _her, and that he's loved her for a very long time.

* * *

Getting reviews is one of my favorite things in the world, so please tell me what you thought!


	9. I Can't Tell You How It All Happened

Disclaimer: _Austin and Ally_ is not mine.

A/N: Thanks for sticking with me! I hope you guys like this chapter!

* * *

Ally drags him to museums the next day with the promise that he can take her ice skating at Rockefeller Center even though he knows she's horribly uncoordinated and will probably end up breaking both of her ankles or something equally pathetic.

Maybe it _is_ just his hair, she thinks, because he wears his baseball cap everywhere and it somehow miraculously keeps him from being recognized. A fan stops them only once, in front of the T-Rex at the American Museum of Natural History, and Ally can hardly believe it when the little girl shyly asks for a picture with her but not Austin.

They go to the Met because she's heard that it's supposed to be amazing but she quickly learns that she's not an art person. Surprisingly, though, Austin stares and stares at the paintings until she's bored out of her mind and wondering what he could possibly be seeing that she's not.

He looks down at her when she takes his hand hoping to turn his attention away from a sculpture, but he just smiles and turns back to it while she lets out an exasperated sigh. "What are you even looking at? You've been staring at this…this…_thing_ for five minutes straight. Silently."

He raises his eyebrows, surprised. "It's incredible! You don't think so?"

She gives him a look that says _obviously not, are you crazy?_ and he laughs, then points out a section to her. "Okay, see these two pieces? How you can't even see how they're put together?"

She shrugs. "I guess, what's the big deal?"

He shakes his head and sighs. "I bet you can name the sculptor and the year he was born and the type of marble this is made of and where it came from and how old it is, can't you?"

She nods and opens her mouth to recite the information, finally glad to have something to contribute, but he continues. "That stuff doesn't matter, Ally."

She frowns and he backtracks. "Well, it matters a little bit, but that little card can tell you all of that. Or you can look it up. You don't need to know it. You have to _look_ at it to really get it."

She leans forward slightly and narrows her eyes. "I still don't see anything but a piece of rock," she says after a minute. "In a cool shape, I guess."

He smiles and gestures to the place he pointed out earlier. "Look at this again. It's…you can't even tell that it's made of two pieces of marble coming together. And it was made a thousand years ago. It's so fluid, like…water or air...or the music you write."

She blinks at it again but all she sees is a curved piece of stone and she sighs, slightly disappointed in herself. "Sorry, Austin," she says. "I guess you just see more than I do."

He squeezes her hand reassuringly. "It's okay. Maybe someday you'll see it."

"Someday," she repeats quietly, and looks up at him, surprised. It's times like these when she wonders what else she doesn't know about him, even after all of these years. Except when it comes to music, Ally's not that artistic. Arts and crafts never really required much free thought either; her baskets and birdhouses were always meticulously structured and planned and technical, built like she was following a manual.

She's all about science and numbers and order and logic but Austin gravitates toward creativity and spontaneity and imagination, and she thinks about how they kind of balance each other out. Maybe it's not so surprising that he would _get_ art, after all.

She finally drags him away from the museum an hour later and it's dark outside when they walk out.

"Ice skating?" he asks excitedly. "You promised!"

She nods reluctantly. "I'm blaming you when I die," she says as he hails a cab.

He opens the door for her and waits for her to get in before sliding in next to her. "You're not going to die," he says. "I'll hold on to you. It'll be…romantic, or whatever."

She sighs.

"Wait, have you never gone ice skating before?" he asks, his eyes widening.

"Obviously not! I grew up in Miami and then we moved to LA! Where would I have gone ice skating?"

"You know they have indoor rinks, right?" he asks dryly.

"Of course I knew that!" She huffs. "But _why _would I have _chosen_ to put my feet in shoes that have giant _blades_ on a slippery, freezing…killing surface when I could, you know, _not_?"

He laughs. "I think you might be surprised."

She narrows her eyes. "We'll see."

The cab stops in front of the giant Christmas tree and Austin hands the driver some cash as she gets out, staring up at the twinkling lights. "This _is_ pretty," she admits reluctantly, turning to him.

"See! I told you!"

They rent skates and she manages to lace them up without too much trouble, standing with wobbly legs on the rubber mat as he walks easily towards her. He takes her hand and leads her to the edge of the rink, stepping on the ice first. She hesitantly follows him, jerking forward slightly when both feet are finally on the slippery surface. He stands still for a few seconds, allowing her to get her bearings before skating forward slowly, his hand gripping hers tightly. She's tentative at first but grows a little more bold and tries taking longer strides when she doesn't fall down right away and finds herself kind of enjoying it.

"I'm doing it!" she laughs, and lets go of his hand. She's somehow a natural at this and skates away from him quickly, the cold air rushing past her ears. He catches up to her, grinning.

"How am I good at this?" she asks, successfully skating in reverse so she's facing him.

He shakes his head. "I have no idea. You're usually not this...um, balanced," he says, scratching the back of his neck.

He suddenly reaches his hand out, eyes widening when she almost skates into a couple behind her but she manages to maneuver away at the last minute. "Did you _see_ that?" she asks excitedly. "This is awesome! We're going skating every weekend when we get back to LA!"

Austin laughs and then reaches for her hand and she finally allows him to take it, turning so she's skating next to him, her movements a little calmer. They skate around in silence for a few laps, her mittened hand warm in his bare one, and she thinks about how quickly she became comfortable with this, with him, with them. She supposes she had always seen it coming, in a way; it was just a matter of time.

She's kind of glad it happened when it did though, because she's closer than ever to becoming the person she's always dreamt of being, the person she wants to be for him, with him, even though she knows he would have accepted her, stage fright and all. Maybe he had just been waiting for her, all this time, to decide what she wanted from herself and from him.

She's startled out of her thoughts when he jerks her hand roughly, pulling her away from almost crashing into a little boy and she gasps, holding out her free hand to keep balance.

"I know you're 'good at this', Ally," he says, making air quotes with his other hand, his eyebrow raised. "But you should probably still pay attention."

"Ha ha ha," she says sarcastically. "I was paying attention. Just not at that…um, particular moment."

He laughs. "We should probably get off the ice before you kill someone."

She blushes. "Shut up," she says, but follows him anyway because she is actually getting kind of tired, not that she would ever admit it.

They decide to walk the ten or so blocks back to their hotel, stopping at a tiny Chinese place on the way to eat dinner. She slides into the chair across from him after they order at the counter and pulls off her mittens and hat, rubbing her hands together to warm them up. He finally takes off his hat and she watches him jealously as he runs his fingers through his hair roughly, shaking his head so that it's somehow perfectly disheveled.

"You know, I'm surprised you didn't want ever want to move to New York," he says suddenly. "I mean, except for the whole MUNY thing."

She raises her eyebrows. "Really? Why?"

He shrugs. "You've just never really seemed like a warm weather person."

"But I grew up in Miami," she says, confused.

"I know, but you hate the beach, and you burn so easily," he argues.

"I guess." She sits back, thinking. "But I really, really hate being cold. Plus, I might not like being at the beach but I like looking at it. There's too much concrete here," she says, wrinkling her nose slightly.

"I can still picture you here, though. Better than I can in LA or Miami."

"But I can't picture _you_ here," she says without thinking, and he looks at her in surprise.

"I didn't…I didn't know you were taking that into consideration."

"How could I not?" she asks as if he's missing something that's completely obvious, frowning slightly. "You're kind of stuck with me, whether or not you like it."

He grins and leans forward, touching his fingertips to hers. "Don't worry, Ally," he says. "I like it."

* * *

Ally is in her living room two weeks later, all the furniture pushed to one side as she turns on the TV. She has a borrowed video game console, courtesy of Dez, and she stands in yoga pants and a fitted tank top in front of it, the controller in her hand. The preparations are well under way for her upcoming two month long tour but multiple people have told her that she needs to learn to move a little better on stage.

She won't really be dancing, but apparently, she has a tendency to look kind of awkward and uncomfortable when she's singing. Someone recommended a dancing video game to her so she bought it, hoping it would loosen her up a bit.

She's about to try it for the first time and chooses the easiest level. The dancer on screen starts moving and she's immediately lost, her feet scrambling to keep up, but she narrows her eyes and tries to focus. She successfully gets through a few more steps, and a gold star flashes on the screen when she completes a move correctly.

"Gold star!" she mutters to herself, and grins. She knows she probably looks like a crazy person but it's not as if anyone's watching her.

She makes it through the entire song without it stopping on her and she pumps her fist in the air.

She starts another song, wanting to take advantage of the successful streak, and concentrates intently on the tiny dancing girl on the screen, trying to mirror her movements. She's so focused that she doesn't hear the knocking on the door or someone slowly pushing it open.

She's in the middle of the hardest part of the dance when she suddenly hears a voice say, "Ally?" from behind her and she shrieks loudly, jumping in fright before turning around. It's Austin, and he's looking at her with his lips pursed, trying not to laugh.

She puts her hands on her hips and glares at him, her chest heaving. "How did even you get in here?"

He manages not to laugh but can't stop himself from grinning at her. "I knocked and you didn't answer but the door was unlocked. But who cares, Ally, what the _hell_ are you doing?"

"I'm dancing, what does it look like? What do you want?"

He winces. "Um, I hate to break it to you, but you look more like you're _seizing_."

She narrows her eyes further. "Why don't you come here and try it, then?"

He holds up his hands and shakes his head. "Nope, no way. As your boyfriend, I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to purposely do anything to make you feel bad," he says.

She ignores the fact that he called himself her boyfriend for the first time (not that they really needed to have that talk) and walks over to where he's standing and takes his wrist, dragging him in front of the TV.

"No, I want to see you try." She shoves the controller in his hand and stands there with her arms crossed. He looks at her for a minute and then lets out a defeated sigh.

"You're not going to give up until I do this, are you?" he asks.

"Nope."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," he says, and then presses start.

Of course his moves are perfect and there are what seem to be a million gold stars on the screen but Ally just watches him. She's never really admitted it to him but she loves watching him dance, even if it does make her jealous sometimes. He's concentrating so he doesn't see her smiling at him but she quickly turns it into a mild glare when he finishes the dance with a flourish, the high score flashing on the screen, and he turns to grin at her.

"That was…okay, I guess," she says reluctantly.

"Gee, thanks," he says sarcastically, slightly out of breath, and he rolls his eyes. "So why are you doing this?"

She uncrosses her arms and slouches a bit. "Everyone keeps telling me that I sometimes look kind of awkward on stage so someone suggested that I try to learn to dance a little bit better. So I'll be more comfortable in my own skin."

He frowns. "I don't think you're that awkward. Just sometimes kind of unsure of yourself. I mean, dancing's a good idea to loosen you up, but I don't think this game is going to help you."

"Then what is?"

He looks at her like she's missing something totally obvious. "I'll teach you, Ally."

She grins sheepishly. "I guess I forgot that was an option."

"Come on, we can start now." He walks to the coffee table and puts the controller down and then turns toward her, holding his hands out.

She accepts them and he draws her closer so there's about a foot of space separating them. "Okay, we'll start slow. Just the basics."

"But there's no music," she says, confused.

"It's okay, wait a minute. I want to show you how to count out your steps."

She lets her hand go slack in his. "But I know how to do that already."

"Really?" He gives her a pointed look. "Then how come you weren't even _close_ to stepping to the rhythm?"

She lets out a sigh. "Fine, show me how to count, oh dance master."

He shakes his head. "Impossible," he says. "All right, follow me. When I move my foot, you move yours."

She nods. He starts moving, a simple one, two, forwards, backwards, and she manages to keep up without doing anything too embarrassing.

"Okay, now let's try four," he says, alternatively taking side steps, and she follows along. He counts out loud for her, nodding when she does it correctly. "Good," he says. "Now, let's try it with music."

He lets go of her hands and picks up her stereo remote, starting one of her new songs. "We might as well try it with what you're going to be singing," he says, shrugging, when she raises an eyebrow at him.

He takes her hands again and she looks up at him, a determined look on her face. "Okay, you need to relax," he says, laughing a little when he sees her stiff expression. "You can't be so rigid. Just try to feel it. Don't think so much." He pauses. "Except the counting. Think about counting."

She's a little confused but she nods anyway, hoping that she'll get it once they begin. He counts out loud again, but more quietly as she steps with him, and they make it through the entire song with her only stepping on his feet twice.

"Awesome!" he says, grinning, raising his hand for a high five.

She raises her hand to slap his when she suddenly remembers that she wasn't expecting him in the first place. "Wait, why'd you come here?"

"Oh, yeah," he says. "I _did_ come for a reason other than to save you from…uh, whatever this was." He makes a vague gesture between her and the TV.

She rolls her eyes. "And what's that?"

He holds out his phone to her wordlessly, a small smile on his face. On the screen is a list of the top albums for the week and hers is listed at number 8. "Oh my god," she says excitedly, jumping up and down. "Oh my god! Number eight! Eight! Out of like, a thousand other albums! Eight!"

He smiles, taking the phone back. "I know it took a few weeks, but you finally broke the top ten! And it's only going to go up from here, especially after the tour starts."

She lets out an excited squeal, barely able to contain her excitement, and launches herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck. He's not at all prepared to catch her and both of their eyes widen as he stumbles backwards before falling, the phone clattering to the floor a few feet away. "Ally," he complains, rubbing the back of his head. "What…did you have to _tackle_ me?"

"Sorry, Austin," she says sheepishly, lifting her head from his chest. She gives him an apologetic smile before standing up, offering her hand to him. He takes it and pulls himself up, grinning.

"I uh, got a little carried away. But…eight! Yay!"

"Yay," he repeats softly, and tugs on her hand to pull her close.

"One," he whispers, and lowers his head to kiss her, his arms wrapping loosely around her waist. She rests her hands on his upper arms and tightens her grip slightly as he pulls away. He kisses her softly on the cheek as she catches her breath. "Two."

He kisses her again, this time a little deeper, running his tongue along her bottom lip, but pulls back before she can respond. "Three."

She can't help but pout a little and the corner of his mouth tilts up a little as he leans forward, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Four."

Then abruptly, his mouth is on hers again and he kisses her for a long time, finally allowing her to kiss him back, and she's out of breath when they part. "Six," he says.

"You skipped five," she whispers.

"Did I?" he asks, and lowers his head to kiss her collarbone. "Five."

"I think I should be..." she trails off and swallows as he presses a kiss to her neck. "I think you're trying to make me wish my album hadn't done so well."

"Seven," he says, lifting his head and looking at her in a way that makes her heart race. "Huh, I didn't think of that. Guess I'll have to improvise until it reaches number one."

She feels a little shiver run down her spine at the look in his eyes and tightens her grip on his arms. "Is that so?"

"Yes," he whispers as his hands tighten around her waist, pulling her even closer. He kisses her again, slow and soft, and she feels her knees weakening as his tongue swirls around hers. She moves her arms up to wrap around his neck and leans all of her weight against him but he barely moves, being so much taller than her, and instead holds her a little closer to keep her upright. He smiles into it and she sighs contentedly as they part. "Eight."

She slowly opens her eyes. "Eight," she whispers.

* * *

Thanks for reading, reviews are the best!


	10. And I Wonder If You Miss Me Too

Disclaimer: _Austin and Ally_ is Disney's. Not mine.

A/N: You have no idea how happy seeing reviews makes me. I love seeing what you guys like (or don't like) in each chapter and I just want to say thanks! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Ally's tour bus is a lot less comfortable than Austin's. She's just starting out, after all, so they're traveling in an older model with finicky temperature controls and ugly carpet and a driver that's maybe just a little bit creepy.

It's late at night and she's trying to sleep but she's freezing despite the sweatshirt she's wearing and the pile of blankets on top of her in her tiny bunk. Austin, as usual, is out like a light and she can hear his steady breathing above her.

After shivering for a few minutes, she gets up and decides to play with the thermostat, fiddling with the knob before goes back to bed but a few minutes later she realizes that she's somehow managed to make it even _colder_. She lets out an exasperated sigh and gets up again to look at what she did only to see that the knob is set on the highest heat setting. She stomps angrily back to bed and trips over her feet as the bus goes over a pothole, landing painfully on her elbow.

"Shit!" she yells and then pauses nervously for a second, waiting to see if anyone had woken up. She doesn't hear anything from Trish and Dez's side so she gets up slowly and carefully walks back to the bunk, resigning herself to freeze to death.

She's about to climb in when she hears a faint "Ally?" coming from above her and she looks up to see Austin blinking sleepily at her. "What's wrong?" he whispers.

She lets out a defeated sigh. "Nothing. I'm just freezing and I almost died just now and this stupid bus is the worst."

He squints at her. "Died?"

She rolls her eyes. "Tripped, whatever."

"Oh." He pauses. "Well, if you're cold, come up here with me."

"What do you mean?"

He looks at her with a confused expression on his face. "I don't really know how else I could rephrase that."

She blushes, not really knowing why, because it wasn't like they hadn't done far more…interesting activities than just sleeping next to each other. "Oh. Okay."

She manages to hoist herself up, kneeling at the end of the bed before crawling forward, and he lifts his blanket so she can slide under. She moves slightly to close the curtain and then she turns toward him, curling up against his warmth. "Are you really that cold?" he whispers.

She nods, shivering, and he lifts his arm to wrap around her, rubbing her back lightly through her sweatshirt to warm her up. "Yeah, you're freezing," he whispers, wincing when her toes press against his leg. "Really freezing."

"Yeah," she mumbles into his neck, her eyes drifting shut. "How are you not?"

"I don't know," he says, shivering slightly as she tangles her cold feet with his. "But your feet are like ice."

"Sorry," she says drowsily, finally warm enough to relax. "You're so hot," she says without thinking, and then immediately regrets her words when she practically _feels_ his ego expanding. "Crap," she mutters before he can say anything. "You know what I meant."

He laughs lightly. "Sure."

"Shut up."

He moves a little, pressing her closer. She feels almost groggy from the heat that's radiating off of him but she's incredibly comfortable. "You should sleep. You have three radio interviews tomorrow on top of the show, which is officially sold out as of three hours ago," he whispers.

"What? Sold out? How is that supposed to make me sleep?" she whispers back, now wide awake, leaning away a little so she can see his face in the dim light. "That's awesome!"

She sees a flash of white as he grins at her and she's about to kiss him but all of a sudden they hear stirring below them and she freezes.

"You guys are so _loud_. And you think_ I'm_ bad at whispering?" Dez grumbles from somewhere below them.

Ally widens her eyes at Austin who is biting his lip trying not to laugh. "Sorry dude," he says softly. She's a little embarrassed that they've been caught but she smiles despite herself.

"Remember the whole love whisperer thing?" she asks, making more of an effort to be quiet.

He rolls his eyes. "He did it again when I told him you and I were together."

She raises her eyebrows. "He offered his…services to me too. But I'm assuming you didn't take him up on it either because we still _are_ together?"

"I heard that," Dez mutters, and they both smother a laugh.

"We should probably actually be quiet," she whispers.

She feels him nod against her shoulder and he shifts, slowly inching his hand under her sweatshirt to rest it on her ribcage. She's not wearing a bra and he knows it and she feels his fingers lightly skim the underside of her breast. Her breath hitches and she bites her lip.

"By be quiet I meant, um, sleep."

He pulls her a little closer in answer, his thumb slowly circling her nipple. "Austin…" she protests, but trails off as she feels his lips press against her neck. She tries to pull herself together but inhales sharply when he simultaneously squeezes her breast and licks the base of her throat and she's about to lean in to kiss him when he suddenly pulls away, dropping a soft kiss on her forehead.

"You should sleep," he says, and she can hear in his voice that he's trying not to laugh. He closes his eyes but leaves his hand under her shirt, moving it around to rest on her lower back. She's a little flushed and her heart is beating a little fast and she can't believe he's such a _tease_. She narrows her eyes at him even though he can't see her and resolves to get revenge when she's not quite so tired. "You're gonna get it," she whispers sleepily and the last thing she sees is the corners of his lips turning up before she succumbs to the feeling of his warm fingers lazily stroking her skin.

* * *

On the last night of the tour, 30 minutes before she's about to go on stage, she tells him that she wants to sing a duet with him, as her encore. His eyes widen in surprise since they haven't rehearsed at all and it's not like her at all to jump into something without planning it to death.

She's little hesitant to ask him because he's been acting a little strange for the past couple of weeks, jumpy and nervous, constantly checking his phone. He hasn't been distant towards her, though, just…weird, so she hasn't really pushed it but she's a little worried. He agrees easily though, and they decide to sing the song that they had performed together in Miami at his concert.

"You do remember how it goes, right?" she asks him a minute before they're supposed to walk on stage. It's her encore performance and no one is expecting to see Austin, especially after Trish had confirmed to the press that her most famous client was taking an indefinitely long break from music.

"Duh, Ally," he says, rolling his eyes. "It's only the song that made you fall in love with me."

Her jaw drops and he winks at her, grinning. She opens her mouth to say something but then it's time for them to go back out and he grabs her wrist before she can speak and starts pulling her toward the stage, his guitar slung over his shoulder.

The screams are deafening as they walk out together. He lets go of her when she gets to the piano and he smiles at her from the other side of it, and a slight sense of déjà vu comes over her. Only this time, she's not nervous or hyperventilating or forcing herself not to throw up. She's excited and happy and she can focus on the crowd, the music, and him all at once.

He locks his eyes with hers as they sing the last chorus together and she's never heard their voices sound quite like this before. It's like his voice was made to go with hers, she thinks, and the look in his eyes tells her that he hears it, too. They sing the last line of the song together and she's completely unaware of everything but him for a moment, until the crowd erupts.

She turns her head slowly to look at the sold out theater before remembering herself, standing up quickly and walking over to where he is. "Thank you so much, LA! See you again soon!" she says, bowing with him before running off stage.

They have a minute to catch their breath and then Trish and Dez are there, both talking animatedly at once.

"You guys were awesome!"

"That was your best performance yet!"

"You need to record an album together!"

"It would make so much money!"

"I can already imagine the videos!"

She laughs and holds her hands up. "Slow down, guys. Give me a minute, I just ended my first tour, like, 30 seconds ago!"

Austin is silent, a strange expression on his face as he looks at her. She frowns at him but then he snaps out of it and grins, stepping forward to embrace her. "I'm really happy for you," he says quietly, before she feels two more sets of arms around her. "Thanks, you guys," she says. "I couldn't have done any of it without all of you."

They all squeeze together for a second longer before pulling away and then they all exchange silent glances.

"So…now what?" Trish finally asks, and Ally finds herself unable to answer. This is what she's wanted for so long, and now that she's gotten it, now that it's over, she doesn't really know what else she wants. She wrings her hands together, unsure of what to say. She glances over at Austin for help but finds his expression unreadable, his eyes focused on the ground. And then she suddenly realizes that she knows what she wants, what she's wanted all along, despite what he had said about her having to find herself all those months ago.

"I don't want to do this by myself any more. I want to do this—" She gestures vaguely to the stage. "—with Austin."

She looks nervously at them, at him, hoping his mind hasn't changed. Trish and Dez both raise their eyebrows while Austin narrows his, a serious look on his face.

"Ally, are you sure?" Trish asks. Ally nods and then frowns. "I mean, I'm obviously all for it, it's just that you decided so fast," she adds quickly.

"I think you guys would be awesome together," Dez chimes in enthusiastically. "I mean, I'm guessing you won't be doing a lot of dancing, which would kind of make my videos boring, but I guess I could try and be more artsy…" he trails off, a faraway look on his face before his eyes light up. "Trish! We need to go to Paris and I need a thirty foot tall chocolate fountain!"

Trish rolls her eyes. "We can go to the fake Eiffel tower in Vegas and you can have two bottles of hot fudge."

"Deal," he says, grinning, before turning around to bump fists with Austin. He seems distracted but smiles and does it anyway, his 'what up?' not quite as enthusiastic.

Trish seems to notice the strange tension, and gives Ally a reassuring smile before grabbing Dez's elbow, dragging him away so she and Austin can talk. "We'll catch up with you two tomorrow, Ally. We have to talk about putting up the videos from tonight!"

Ally gives her a grateful look and then hesitantly turns to Austin. "Are you…I didn't mean to spring this on you like that, it just kind of came out. I'm sorry, I mean, if it's not something you might want, I totally get it, it's just that we talked about it a while ago, remember? When I was crying in the car? Oh man, that's embarrassing, why would I reference that now?"

She grimaces and starts pacing, knowing she's rambling but unable to stop. "Anyway, you said that you wanted to sing with me but that you wanted me to do it on my own first and I did and I guess I'm just wondering what you're thinking because you haven't said anything and we haven't talked about it at all and it's making me nervous." She says the entire sentence in one breath and then pauses, looking at him anxiously from halfway across the room.

His expression is still clouded, although he looks slightly amused. "Calm down, Ally, of course I still want that."

She breathes a sigh of relief but he pauses, walking past her and exhaling heavily. "I didn't want to tell you this until later, but I'm getting some pushback from the record company," he says, his back turned away from her.

She frowns. "What do you mean?"

He turns and looks at her, his face serious. "I spoke to them a couple of weeks ago, because I was getting nonstop calls asking how long I was planning on continuing to take a break. I kind of told them that it wouldn't be for that much longer but that I was thinking about doing what we talked about." He pauses. "You know, you and me."

"But _we_ hadn't really talked about it at that point."

"I know," he says quickly. "Which is why I told them it was all hypothetical. Just to gauge their reaction. I haven't even told Trish."

"So what happened?" she asks, worry growing in the pit of her stomach.

"It kind of escalated. They…they weren't happy." He says hesitantly. "They think it'll ruin my career."

She lets out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "Oh." She looks down at the ground, feeling her chest tighten painfully. "Oh, well, I mean, I understand, I know I'm not that popular yet and—"

"What? No, Ally," he interrupts. "Let me finish. They said that, but then I said that they could screw themselves and that if they didn't want to support our partnership that they could end my contract. That's the uh, nice version. And then, um…" he looks at her anxiously. "Imighthavelostmycontractanditmighthaveofficiallye ndedtoday."

Ally looks over at him, her eyes wide. "What?" she practically shrieks. "Are you kidding me? Austin!"

He looks down at his feet, shoving his hands into his pockets nervously.

She's suddenly so angry she can barely look at him and feels her face heating up. "Of all the utterly idiotic things to do, Austin! You didn't even _talk_ to me first? I honestly don't…_you_ _lost your recording contract_. Do you even realize what that _means_? It means we have to start this entire stupid process over again!"

He winces as she glares at him. "I can't stay on _my_ contract now! We're going to lose so much money! And you know I don't care about that because we're both pretty set, but this is going to overshadow anything we try to do together. What company is going to want to deal with that kind of drama? We're already a huge risk!"

He opens his mouth to say something, but she's not even close to being done, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she stalks over to where he's standing. "Do you want to know why we're a risk? You're a _pop_ _star_. You sing and dance under strobe lights and your songs are remixed and played at nightclubs! _Nightclubs_, Austin! Your singles hit number one the day after they're released! Did you honestly think they would just be okay with you strapping on an acoustic guitar and singing duets with me without a fight?"

Austin is angry now, his face slightly pink as he glares back at her. "Are you seriously mad that I tried to get us what we wanted?"

Her jaw drops in disbelief. "There was a way to do it, Austin! A way to approach them, with Trish and plans and projections and a strategy! Maybe even a lawyer! Not over the phone with you acting like an arrogant little kid who isn't getting what he wants! I thought you were over doing shit like this after that whole thing with...with _her_, but here you go again!" she exclaims, throwing her hands up in the air.

They've never, ever, ever talked about _her_ after that one night and both of their eyes widen when they simultaneously realize what she's said. Ally shakes it off more quickly than Austin, who is looking at her in shock, but she's too angry to care.

"I understand that you're confident and that's usually a good thing, but you need to know that you're replaceable to them! What part of that do you not get?"

He crosses his arms, his eyes narrowing. "The part where you think I'm _replaceable_? And the part where you reference…_that_? I tried to do this for you, and this is how you—"

She lets out a frustrated breath, cutting him off, her voice rising. "I honestly cannot _believe_ you right now. And tonight, of all nights! On the last night of my tour! And you're obviously not replaceable to _me_, you idiot!"

Her voice reaches a more acceptable pitch. "I understand what you were trying to do. But I'm kind of really fucking angry with you right now, Austin!"

She spins around and practically stomps out of the building, ignoring the crew members who have stopped dismantling the equipment to stare at them.

Ally walks outside and collapses on a bench in front of the venue, burying her head in her hands. She's shaking a little from being so angry and takes a deep breath before looking up at the sky because he knows he will come after her and she's trying to calm down before he finds her.

Sure enough, he comes running out of the building a few minutes later, looking around wildly.

"I'm here, Austin," she calls out, and sits up as he walks toward her. She moves over so he can join her, and she turns her head to look at him tiredly. He doesn't look angry anymore but he sits down warily, maintaining distance between them. "It's okay, you can join me," she says quietly. "I just don't really know what to say to you right now."

His fingers are fidgeting nervously and he nods, looking straight ahead. "I really, really messed up." He lets out a breath. "But I need to talk to you about what you said in there first."

She's confused. She said a lot of different things and doesn't know what he's talking about. "Which thing?"

Austin turns his head a little and looks at her out of the corner of his eye before dropping his gaze to his lap. "The um, thing you said about…me acting like I did with, uh, _her_," he stammers.

She sighs. "Oh. Well, I think in the grand scheme of things, that's really the least important—"

"No," he interrupts. "No. It's important to me. I know you're insanely mad at me. And you should be. But we've never talked about that whole thing before, do you realize that? It's like those three months never even existed. And that one night never existed."

She's exhausted and this is the last thing she wants to talk about but she knows he's not going to let it go. "I don't really want those months to exist. I'm sorry I brought it up."

She starts to stand up but he grabs her wrist and pulls her back down, quickly dropping it when he sees the irritated look on her face, but he continues. "I never told you what happened that night before I came to see you."

She does _not_ want to hear this. She's done an excellent job of blocking it from her memory and a trip down that horrible memory lane is not what she needs after their huge fight. "Austin…"

He looks at her, his eyes pleading. "Please let me tell you."

She sighs. "Fine."

He stares down at his hands. "I overheard you that afternoon, talking to Trish."

Her eyes widen. She remembers that conversation vividly. She had been in the practice room with Trish, venting about her frustrations with Austin and how she thought she was losing him. He blew off two straight weeks of songwriting with her to be with she-who-will-never-be-named and then texted her, asking where his next song was, like she was just expected to come up with something on demand. She had eventually broken down, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed into Trish's shoulder about the dreams—her dreams—that she thought were disappearing as the Austin Moon she knew was slowly fading away.

"You did?"

He nods, still not looking at her. "I came to the practice room angry, to ask you where the hell my next song was. Like a total douchebag. Which I was."

He laughs bitterly. "But something snapped the second I saw you crying. That was the first time I'd ever seen you cry. And the fact that it had to do with _me_? That _I_ was the one that made you cry? I couldn't…I couldn't handle it." He pauses. "You're not a crier, after all." He smiles slightly; echoing her words from that one night that now seems like it was forever ago.

He looks up at her then, and she sees that his eyes are a little wet and it's something she has never, ever seen before. She just stares back at him, her heart in her throat, and he continues, his voice strained. "It was like the last three months flashed in front of me, like I was _watching_ myself being an asshole. I realized how awful I was to you. And Trish and Dez. I honestly thought I was going to throw up. And then I practically sprinted out of there and broke it off with um, _her_, right after, over the phone."

"And then you came over."

He lets out a breath. "And then I came over. Well, after I spent four hours looking for that cloud book."

She gives him a small smile. "I don't even remember telling you that I wanted it."

"I've never been more terrified in my entire life than when you opened your door. I thought you were going to slam it in my face and never talk to me again. I would have deserved it."

"I was tempted for a minute. But then I saw the book. And the pickles," she says, her eyes softening.

He gives her a small smile. "I am _so_ sorry, Ally."

She knows he's not talking about two years ago but instead about what had just happened now and she's too tired to be that angry anymore. "It really sucks," she says wearily. "But there's not really anything we can do right now."

He nods. "But _your_ contract is still fine, though. You can still do this on your own."

She moves closer to him so their shoulders and thighs are pressed against one another. "I don't want to do this on my own. Even though I'm mad at you right now. Look, we need to talk to Trish and figure out what our next move should be. Do you think you burned every bridge we have?"

He bites his lip and avoids her eyes. "Um, I might have maybe called the CEO a pretentious dickbag who wouldn't know talent if it bit him in the ass. So, probably, yeah."

"Austinnnn," she groans, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees, burying her head in her hands.

"Did I mention that I'm really, really sorry?" he says, his voice hopeful.

"Yes," she grumbles. "I'm too exhausted to deal with this now. And it's not like we can do anything tonight. Let's just talk to Trish later, okay?"

"Okay," he says, standing up to face her. "Come on, you're practically dead on your feet. Let me take you home."

She nods and allows him to pull her up, and she leans into him as he puts his arm around her shoulders, holding her. They walk to her car silently and she hands him the keys before opening the passenger door and letting herself sink into the seat, already half asleep.

"Ally?" he whispers from next to her.

"Yeah?"

"I really am sorry."

"Mmm," she mumbles sleepily, before her heavy eyelids drift shut, the last thing on her mind the image of him on stage, looking at her over the piano, his eyes full of an emotion that makes her think that everything might be okay.

* * *

thanks for reading!

reviewing will make both you and me happy


	11. It's The One Thing That I Wish You Knew

Disclaimer: _Austin and Ally _belongs to Disney. Not me.

A/N: All I want in life is five minutes of non awkward, lovey-dovey Auslly. Is that too much to ask? Le sigh. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

* * *

It's a week later, and everything is not okay. The press release had come out the morning after their fight and Trish had found out about it before they could tell her anything. Needless to say, Ally had never seen her best friend more furious, and she had yelled at Austin for so long she had nearly lost her voice. Even Dez, who as far as she knew had never gotten angry at Austin before had quietly said, "Dude, you really messed up," before shaking his head and leaving the room.

Ally, too, had kept a bit of distance from him for a couple of days before she called them all together to go over to his place. He looked exhausted when they arrived, and they had all awkwardly stared at each other for a minute before she walked past him and declared that they were going to have a Team Austin and Ally meeting.

The news that Austin Moon's record label had dropped him had been huge and he had been fending off requests for interviews and appearances for days. They had spent six hours talking about their options before finally giving up and deciding to let all of the attention surrounding him die down before doing anything else.

Her own recording contract is still valid, but it was firmly suggested to her that she also take a break since she is so connected to Austin.

She thinks she's pretty much forgiven him, but they haven't been alone together in over a week. He's been giving her space, like she wanted, but she's getting bored of sitting at her piano, writing duets that she's not sure she'll ever be able to perform in between having mini panic attacks about her future.

Ally finally gets fed up when a record executive calls her to talk about her "options". She sets a meeting up with them and takes her lawyer and impulsively breaks her contract and doesn't tell anyone, not even Trish. She has a feeling it won't stay secret for long though and she loses thousands and thousands of dollars in the mess and chews on her hair for ten whole minutes when it's done but she knows she did the right thing. She goes home and doesn't talk to anyone for two days and barely sleeps and barely eats until all she can think about is seeing Austin.

So she does. She sits in his driveway for a minute before taking a breath and walking to the front door. He answers right away, like he had already been waiting there, and she steps inside, closing the door behind her.

"Hey, Ally," he says, looking at her, his hands in his pockets. "I didn't think I'd see you for a while."

She opens her mouth to say something, anything, but she doesn't know what to say. So instead she decides to do what she's wanted to do all week and steps forward to wrap her arms around him, resting her cheek on his chest. His arms are around her in an instant, squeezing her tightly against him as he rests his chin on top of her head. They stay like that for a minute before she pulls back slightly and looks up at him.

"I'm not mad at you anymore," she says. "I just…I miss you. And I'm bored. And going kind of insane."

He nods. "You have no idea how hard it was not to call you or text you or knock on your door. And I know it's my fault, and I don't know how many times I can say it without it losing its meaning but I'm _so_ sorry, Ally."

"It's okay." She sighs. "Can we maybe not talk about it or think about it, just for today?"

He raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Really?"

She steps back from him and takes his hand. "Really," she says before leading him into his living room. She sits in the middle of the couch and pats the seat next to her. "I just want to sit here with you. And not think. Or talk."

He's surprised, she can tell, because she's definitely not to type to pretend a problem doesn't exist but she's just so _tired_. He joins her anyway, and as soon as he sits she scoots her body down and puts her head in his lap and then she finally feels some of the tension melting away, which she finds kind of ironic since he's the one who put it there in the first place. His fingers go into her hair and massage her scalp lightly, sending shivers down her spine, and she closes her eyes, finally relaxed, until he starts talking.

"I think we should try doing this like we started. Videos online, I mean. Only this time—"

She groans, cutting him off. "What did I just say? Not talking about this, remember?"

"Ally, we can't avoid it."

She turns her head into his stomach, effectively shielding her face from him. "I can," she says, her voice muffled. "Now leave me alone. But keep rubbing my head."

"Can you just hear me out?" he asks, his fingers still circling slowly.

She's silent for a long moment, trying to make him give up, but she can feel his eyes on her. "Fine," she groans, sitting up. "What's your big idea?"

He has a determined look on his face. "I think we should just make videos. And put them online. And see what happens. I mean, most people don't hate me, so it could work. They don't know the story yet but we could explain it and people usually don't side with the record company, you know? And then we could get picked up again."

She raises an eyebrow and decides to test how much he's thought this out. "That's it? That's your plan? What about the fact that I can't put anything out on my own while I'm under contract?"

He frowns and looks down, pausing for a second. "Then you have to decide whether we're going to move forward together or if you want to stay with your contract."

She opens her mouth to say something, but he continues, looking at her.

"And I know that's asking a lot. It's honestly probably asking too much of you, to give up what's a sure thing for yourself and gamble it on us. But I know you know we have something."

She doesn't say anything for a long minute and she can tell he's getting nervous because he starts fidgeting.

"Okay," she says finally.

He wrinkles his brow in confusion. "What's okay?"

She smiles. "I'm saying okay, let's start over. I don't want to do this without you. It's not even a decision."

"Are you serious?"

"Very." She hesitates. "I…kind of maybe already got out of my contract. Which is mainly why I didn't want to think about this whole thing."

His jaw drops and his eyes widen. "What? When?"

"Two days ago," she says. "It was impulsive and probably stupid and probably a result of you rubbing off on me, because you do things like this but I would never, right? And yeah, that's right, you already did!"

He frowns.

"Oh, Austin," she sighs, letting out a short, nervous laugh that she thinks is probably the result of exhaustion before she collapses forward, burying her head in her hands. "I'm just so tired. And hungry."

"Come here," he says, before wrapping his arm around her and tugging her closer to him. She lets him pull her so she's curled up against him and she looks up at his face to see that it's full of concern. "You need to eat. And then you need to sleep. We can talk about this later."

She leans back as he stands up. "I'm going to get you something. You stay here, okay?"

She nods and watches him walk into the kitchen before collapsing back into the couch, feeling some weight lifting off her shoulders as a result of having told him what had happened. She feels her eyelids getting heavy but then he comes back, carrying a bowl of cereal and a banana.

"Thanks," she says, accepting the food gratefully. He watches her for a minute before walking out of the room and when he comes back, he's changed out of his jeans into boxers and he's holding a T-shirt, presumably for her.

"I figured this would be long enough for you," he says, setting it down next to her as she finishes the last of the banana.

"Yeah," she says, standing up. They walk into the bedroom and it's awkward for a millisecond until she decides she's way too tired to care about any of this and takes her jeans and shirt off, putting his on over her head. She wiggles out of her bra and throws it on the floor with everything else and looks at him. He's staring at her with an expression on his face that makes her wish she wasn't so worn out but then he snaps out of it, the tips of his ears slightly pink.

He clears his throat and starts walking to the bed but then he pauses. "Can I kiss you?" he asks, and before she can say anything he's in front of her, cupping her face with both hands, bending his head towards hers. He stops two inches away from her mouth, waiting for an answer, and she rises up on her tiptoes, closing the distance between them. She wraps her arms loosely around his neck and he kisses her slowly, gently, until she can't focus on anything else. He pulls back unhurriedly, dropping his hands, and she opens her eyes slowly before rocking forward and kissing him again. She pours out every emotion she's felt in the last week into it, sinking into him, and he pulls her closer, his arms tight around her.

"Sleep," he says, his voice a little shaky, when they finally break apart. She nods, slightly out of breath, and he takes her wrist, leading her to the bed. They climb in on opposite sides and get under the blankets and she suddenly feels like she's about to pass out. She manages to use her last bit of energy to roll over and throw her arm across his chest, tangling her legs with his, and the last thing she feels is the press of his lips against her temple before her eyelids drift shut.

* * *

She sleeps for seven hours and the sun is setting when she wakes up. Austin isn't there but she can hear the faint sounds of a guitar coming from outside the room so she stretches and stands, feeling rested.

He's standing outside on the deck, playing the song they had sung together at her concert, the sound quickly getting lost in the wind. She shivers slightly and crosses her arms as she steps outside through the open door, walking until she's next to him and she looks up, swirls of red and orange from the setting sun reflecting off his hair, making him look like he's almost glowing. He smiles when he sees her and stops playing, slinging the guitar over his shoulder. "Do you feel better?" he asks.

"Much better," she says. "How long did you sleep?"

"Just a couple of hours." He pauses. "You um, definitely didn't want to let me go, though."

She blushes. "You, uh, make a good pillow."

"I knew you wanted me for something other than my sparkling personality," he teases.

"Oh, right, that reminds me, I forgot about the money," she says, laughing, and then walks over to the railing, leaning her arms against it. There's a slight chill in the air and she feels goose bumps on her bare legs but it's beautiful outside. She shivers slightly as a breeze blows past them and he moves to stand behind her, shielding her from the wind. She lets herself falls back so she's pressed against his chest and sighs, instantly warmer.

"You're too tall," she says after a minute.

He laughs. "I think you're just really small."

"I mean, look at this," he says, placing his palm flat on her stomach and splaying his fingers. "My hand spans the entire width of your body."

She looks down to see that he's actually not that far off but rolls her eyes. "I think you're exaggerating," she says, trying to ignore the shiver that runs through her as his thumb comes dangerously close to skimming the bottom of her breasts. She clears her throat. "We should um, go inside. It's getting cold. And dark."

He's silent for a few seconds but then he drops his hand and steps away, and she stumbles backwards, not expecting the loss of support. He catches her by her shoulders before anything happens and she turns around slowly to glare at him. He shrugs guiltily at her and she shakes her head at him.

"You should know by now not to make any sudden movements around me," she says as they walk back inside.

"Hey, I…yeah," he finishes lamely and she laughs as she sits on the couch, curling up in the corner.

He sets his guitar down and joins her and she shifts so she's pressed up against him and he lifts his arm so she can rest her head on his chest.

They quietly sit for a few minutes, both lost in their thoughts.

"So. Tell me more about how you pulled an Austin Moon and lost your record deal," he says, breaking the silence.

She sighs and leans back, her fingers playing with a loose thread on his shirt. "There's nothing else to tell, Austin. They didn't want to support us together, so I had to leave. This is what we've wanted since the start, and I'm finally in a place where I can do it. And after you lost your contract, it's not like there was anything in it for me to stay."

"But Ally," he argues. "You gave up what was a sure thing for a huge risk. You don't do that. Ally Dawson doesn't do that."

She shrugs. "It's like I said. You're rubbing off on me."

He frowns. "But now neither of us are doing what we want."

She looks down at her lap, avoiding his eyes. "I'd rather not do it at all than do it without you," she mumbles.

He doesn't say anything, which makes her worry for a minute but then his hand is on her cheek and he's lifting her head so she'll look at him. He just stares at her with an unreadable expression on his face before dropping his hand and she gives him a small smile. "I love you," he says suddenly, and really, she's known it all along, and she's pretty sure he knows that, too, but hearing it out loud means a lot more than she thought it would.

She can't take her eyes off his even if she tried and he's looking at her like she's the only thing in the entire _universe _that matters and the realization is a little staggering, to know that he loves her as much as he does. "I love you," she whispers, and then she's on his lap and his arms are tight around her waist and she feels like all she will ever need or want is in this moment, with him.

It's slow and soft when he kisses her and neither of them try to deepen it, her fingers finding their way into the hair at the base of his neck as his clutch the fabric of her shirt. He kisses her for what seems like forever, until she can't feel, can't comprehend anything but him and the way he fits around her.

* * *

Ally is good at a lot of things, but cooking is not one of them. She can make easy things, like pancakes and spaghetti, but throw in a word like _julienne _and she's totally lost. Austin's not much better, but she thinks that between the two of them, they should be able to make a simple dish like chicken parmesan.

They start cooking kind of late because she'd been sleeping all day and they had been wrapped up in each other for hours. They finally separated when her stomach started rumbling and she had realized that she hasn't eaten anything since that morning.

Now, she's standing in the kitchen, a shocked expression on her face, her entire bottom half covered in flour, while Austin starts laughing hysterically. "We're ordering food," she says when he finally stops, wordlessly handing her his phone while trying and failing miserably to keep the grin off his face.

"How did you even flip the container?" he asks after she orders a pizza (half veggie for her, half Hawaiian for him). "It wasn't even close to the edge of the counter."

She looks up from dusting off her bare legs. "Are you serious? Maybe if you hadn't snuck up from behind and scared the living daylights out of me, I wouldn't have flour all over my legs and the chicken wouldn't be in your dirty sink," she says, leveling a glare at him. "Which, by the way, is getting kind of gross."

Austin looks at her guiltily. "I was trying to be romantic, you know, come up behind you and whisper sweet nothings in your ear while you cook?"

"Oh, because creepily standing behind me and then grabbing my waist while I'm covering a piece of raw chicken in some flour is just so romantic," she says dryly.

He laughs. "Okay, so kitchen seduction is definitely off the table. Now that you say it, I do remember a 'no sudden movements' rule..."

She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear before she remembers that her hands are covered in flour and he laughs again at the streak of white it leaves across her cheek. She lets out an exasperated sigh and walks over to the sink to wash her hands as he moves to stand next to her. She picks up a towel to dry off and wipe away the flour but he grasps her wrist lightly before she can.

She frowns. "Hey, I—"

She stops talking when his hand cups her cheek gently, and he uses his thumb to brush off the flour, his eyes on hers the entire time.

Ally smiles at him and he gives her a half smile back before leaning down and kissing her, his other hand tugging her wrist to pull her closer. She slowly opens her eyes when they break apart, her heart beating a little faster. "So…some kitchen seduction might not be so bad," she says lightly, and he grins.

He takes a step back from her and scratches his head, looking around the kitchen. "So I'm assuming I'm going to be one to clean this up?"

She gives him a look that says 'duh, of course' before walking around to the bar counter, sitting on a chair and resting her head on her hand. He's just standing there, staring at the mess like he doesn't know where to begin. "Go get a broom, Austin," she says, stifling a laugh.

"Right," he says. "Broom."

Austin disappears into another room and returns a few minutes later holding a broom and a dustpan, both still in their original packaging.

She laughs and gives him pointed look. "Are you serious? You've never cleaned your own house, have you? Didn't you have to do chores at home?"

He shrugs sheepishly. "Well, yeah, but I was mostly on dish duty when I was growing up. My mom didn't trust me with a broom because I'd always end up using it as a microphone and then never actually clean anything."

She grins, picturing a miniature version of him dancing around the kitchen.

"And I've cleaned this house…maybe once?" he continues. "Don't give me that look—I'm a rock star! I can hire someone to clean my house. I don't have time for chores!"

She shakes her head and stands up to walk around the counter, taking the broom from him and unwrapping the plastic. "You're hopeless. Go sit down," she orders, starting to sweep. He hoists himself up on the island, watching her as she walks around the kitchen. She's suddenly very aware that she's still only wearing his shirt as she feels his eyes on her and tugs it down self consciously as she bends to sweep the flour into the dustpan.

"You have a nice ass," he says suddenly, and she shoots up, nearly hitting her head on the edge of the counter.

"Wh-huh?" she says, flustered. "Uh, thanks?"

"Just in case you didn't know." He pauses for a second. "I kind of love that I can say that to you now."

She blushes. "It's not still weird to you sometimes? I mean, I know it's been a while since we started dating, but we were just friends for _so_ long."

He shrugs. "It's not like I wasn't thinking it before. I just couldn't say it out loud." He jumps down from the counter and takes her hand. "And now I can. And I can also do this," he adds, and bends his head, wrapping his arms around her waist and dipping her theatrically as he kisses her. She laughs into the kiss and he pulls her back up, grinning.

"It's still a little weird to me," she says, and he frowns a little. "But a good weird," she adds quickly. "An _awesome_ weird. I mean, I get to you know, do that too," she says vaguely.

"Do what? Dip me?" he asks innocently and she narrows her eyes at him. "You know what I mean," she says, gesturing between them. "Stuff."

"Stuff," he repeats. "Huh. Do you think you could clarify?"

He's managing to keep a completely straight face and she wrings her hands together and huffs, avoiding his eyes. "You know what I mean," she says. "Like, kissing, or whatever," she mumbles, blushing.

"Hmm," he says. "Whatever? That's not much clearer, Ally. You're the one that's supposed to be good with words."

She reddens further and lets out an exasperated sigh. "Okay, fine, I like that I can kiss you and do other...stuff whenever I want! Can we stop talking about what we can…_do_ to each other now?"

He grins. "I love it when you blush. You're such a dork," he says, laughing when she glares at him. She's about to say something but they're interrupted by the doorbell, signaling the arrival of their pizza. He winks at her and spins around, digging in his pocket for money. "You're just soooo charming, aren't you?" she calls as he walks away.

"Yup," he yells back, and she shakes her head, laughing.

"Holy shit, you're Austin Moon! Can I have your autograph? You're awesome!" she hears from outside the kitchen as he answers the door. "Ha, yeah, of course, thank you," he replies easily and it's quiet for a minute as he presumably signs something. "Um, keep the change," she hears him say, followed by the sound of the door closing softly.

"Do you ever get used to that?" she asks as he walks in.

"Used to what?" he asks, confused.

"You know, the autographs, the 'holy shit, you're Austin Moon!', you know, all that stuff."

He shrugs. "I don't know. Not really. It's still kind of mind blowing when I stop and think about it. I mean, yeah, when I'm signing a bunch of autographs at a meet and greet or something, and taking picture after picture, it feels kind of routine. But then I think about it afterwards and it seems crazy that people would wait _hours_ to see me for just a few seconds." He smiles. "But when it's random like the pizza guy? That's still totally awesome."

She smiles, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes and he notices, frowning as he sets the pizza box down. "What's wrong?"

Hearing him talk about everything in his career that makes him happy triggers something in her that makes her stomach clench nervously. Ally worries by nature, and this is no exception. She's been worried ever since he lost his contract, but this makes her wonder, and not for the first time, if she did the right thing by telling him that she wanted to perform with him.

His words about what the record company had said, that she would ruin his career, are repeating themselves over and over in her head and she can't breathe for a moment, thinking about what she's done and the consequences it might have for him.

But she shakes her head. "Nothing. It's nothing," she says. "Can we eat now?"

"Ally…"

"I'm just hungry, okay?"

He looks at her for a long moment before nodding and turns around to grab some plates while she gets two beers from the fridge.

"But you don't like beer," he says, raising an eyebrow when he sees the bottles in her hand.

"I like it with pizza," she replies.

"Really? I didn't know that," he says, surprised.

"That's good," she says, smiling. "It means we still have things to learn about each other."

"I can think of other things to learn," he says, grinning lasciviously before tugging her closer and placing a wet, smacking kiss on her cheek.

"Austinnn!" she whines, wiping her face with her palm. "Gross!"

He laughs, his eyes mischievous. "See, I just learned you don't like it when I do that."

She tries to give him a stern look but fails, unable to keep the grin off her face. "I hate you."

"Man, that sucks," he says, looking at her in a way that makes her heart stop for just a second. "Because I kind of love you."

* * *

They sit across from each other at the table, the pizza between them, and talk about everything and nothing, memories of late night songwriting sessions in Miami, his first headlining concert, the first song she ever wrote that wasn't about butterflies, him trying to teach her how to dance so she could impress a boy named after a different city in Texas. She's grown up with him in every way possible, she realizes, and she can't even begin to imagine, doesn't even want to imagine, what her life would be like without him in it.

When they finally go to bed it's 2 am and she's exhausted, the lack of sleep from the past two days catching up with her again. She burrows under the covers while he finishes getting ready in the bathroom and nearly falls asleep before he comes back out. She stirs when she feels the bed shift and turns on her side to face him.

He's on his back and he's staring up at the ceiling and she feels her eyes beginning to drift shut when he suddenly speaks. "Why were you so weird after the pizza guy asked me for my autograph?" he asks.

She stiffens, thinking that he had forgotten about it. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, Ally," he says, turning his head to look at her. "Tell me."

She's silent for a long minute. "I feel like it's partly my fault that you lost your contract," she confesses quietly. "And when you were talking about how amazing it all is, to have fans, and to have random encounters, and—"

She swallows. "I'm a little terrified that we, that _I_, really messed up. That us doing this together _is_ actually going to cost you your career, like they said. And that you'll end up resenting me, or…something."

She suddenly can't look at him anymore and she turns over on her back, her turn to look at the ceiling. Her throat feels tight and her eyes are welling up with tears and she blinks rapidly, trying to will them away.

"What do I have to say to convince you?" he whispers, after a long moment of silence. "You're _it_ for me, Ally. I don't understand why you're making it sound like you're forcing me to do this, like I don't want it just as much as you." He pauses, finding her hand under the covers. "I'd rather not do it at all than do it without you, too," he says, echoing her words from earlier, and she finally turns to face him.

She tries to smile at him but her face crumples and she presses her free hand to her eyes, trying not to cry. "I think I've cried more since we started dating than I had the entire time we were friends," she says, her voice wavering. She lets out a teary laugh.

"I feel like a stupid teenager," she wails before she loses it, turning her back to him, her body shaking as she sobs. She knows it's not just this one conversation that she's crying about, but it had been the tipping point, after the general insanity of the last week and the stress and the worry and the exhaustion and the insecurity that she's been dealing with alone.

He puts a tentative hand on her back, which just makes her cry harder, and he moves it away quickly and she thinks that he's probably freaking out right about now. He surprises her though, when she feels his arm around her waist, forcing her to roll over so she's facing him, and then he pulls her close, his other arm wrapping around her.

She buries her head in his chest and curls her fingers in his shirt and he rubs her back gently, letting her let it all out. His shirt is wet when she finally stops and she's sniffing loudly and she thinks he probably thinks she's lost her mind. She lets out a slightly crazed, nervous laugh and he leans back a little so he can see her. "Sorry about your shirt," she says weakly. "And about you know, going insane just then."

He frowns and cups her face with his hand, wiping the tears away. "You're not insane," he says. "A lot of stuff happened this week. A lot of really bad stuff. And you were dealing with it by yourself and you're not very good at keeping your emotions bottled up for long, so really, this was kind of inevitable."

She gapes at him. "Wha—how did you know all that?"

"I know you," he says. "And what else could have possibly happened?"

She sighs. "I guess everything just caught up to me all at once," she says, and he gives her a small smile, his thumb softly tracing her cheekbone.

"We're gonna be okay, Ally," he says quietly.

She looks at him for a moment before she's suddenly hit with a wave of exhaustion. He leans forward to press his lips to her forehead as her eyes shut and she knows, _knows_, that as long as he is by her side, she'll always be okay, they'll always be okay.

* * *

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	12. You're On My Mind, All The Time

Disclaimer: _Austin and Ally_ is not mine.

A/N: A little bit of a filler chapter but I like it.

* * *

"Do you want to know what one of my favorite things you've ever done for me is?" she asks.

It's been a week since her little…meltdown, and she's back to being Ally. She's made checklists and organized their schedule and projected a timeline for when and how often to post videos online. They've recorded two songs that she had already written, and they're working together on writing two more. She researches record labels that specialize in the kind of artists they want to be and forwards the information to Trish, hoping that she'll be able to get them a meeting using her wide network of contacts.

She knows that Austin could still probably walk into any record label on the planet and they'd sign him instantly, but she also knows that without first proving that they would be successful as Austin _and _Ally, they would face the same problems as before.

They're taking a break from writing all morning, her small hand enveloped in his larger one as they take a walk in the park near her house. It's pretty deserted since most people are at work so she doesn't worry about him being recognized and convinces him to go without his usual hat-and-sunglasses routine.

"I mean, you've done a lot of really nice things that usually involved risking your career for me in some way or another," she continues, then pauses. "And I guess you're doing that right now, too. But anyway, one of my favorites?"

"Sure," he says, intrigued. "What is it?"

"Do you remember when Tilly made that website and attacked you on it?"

"Miami Hater Girl. How could I forget?" He suddenly gets a faraway, nostalgic look in his eyes. "Pants sundae," he mumbles distractedly.

"Ooookay," she says, giving him a strange look. "Anyway, you sang 'The Butterfly Song'."

"And?" he says, confused.

"That's the thing." She smiles and looks up at him. "I think about that all the time. We were fifteen, Austin. Fifteen. Most fifteen-year-old boys are complete idiots who only care about being cool. Or tough."

She grins. "But you…you sang that girly, little kid song, and you sang it in front of everyone without being even a little embarrassed, just so I didn't have to perform. And you performed it despite the fact that you didn't even have to, since Tilly had already admitted everything."

He shrugs. "It was important to you."

"That's it, though," she says. "It's the fact that you would have done anything to make me happy, even when we were just starting out. We didn't really even know each other that well at that point."

He doesn't say anything for a minute. "I had this feeling from the very beginning," he says finally. "This feeling that we were…connected. I can't really explain it."

She gives him a questioning look. "What I'm trying to say is that I just kind of knew you were important to me, that you would be important to me for a long time," he continues. "That's why I sang it."

"Plus, it was a good song, Ally," he adds. "I don't usually have the opportunity to sing the word 'metamorphosis' in my usual lyrics, after all," he says, grinning.

"Wowww," she says, drawing out the word, and he frowns. "I had no idea you were so hung up on me right from the start," she says, trying to keep a straight face. "It's kind of sad, really. I mean, it took you eight years to make a move."

He scoffs, offended. "Please, Ally. If I had _wanted_ to make a move—which I _didn't_, by the way—when we were fifteen, I so would have." He pauses. "And you would have _so_ been swept off your feet."

"Oh yeah?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. "So what would a teenage Austin Moon have done to woo a teenage Ally Dawson?"

"I would have surprised you with a picnic. In the park. With lots of pickles. But I probably would have nixed the silent movie. And then I would have serenaded you," he says arrogantly. "Remember how well that worked on Cassidy?"

"And who would have written you the song to serenade me with, genius?" she asks.

His eyes widen. "Um…I guess, um, I would have written it myself?"

She nods like she's agreeing with him. "Wait, the point was to win me over, right? Just to get that straight? Because fifteen year old you writing fifteen year old me a song would have probably driven fifteen year old me away."

She pauses, distinctly recalling his suggestion of '_don't drink the pee in the pool_' and she shudders. "Far, far away."

He makes an irritated sound. "Well, I would have thought of something. And anyway, I barely had to do anything when you _actually_ fell in love with me," he says smugly, as she narrows her eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"It's truuuue," he says, and runs away from her into the grass before she can say anything.

"Who knew just getting you a bunch of pickles would do the trick?" he calls out from in front of her, grinning, as her jaw drops in outrage.

She glares at him in the distance. "Austin Moon!" she yells, and then chases after him, silently thanking herself for wearing flats.

He's laughing as he dodges her attempts at catching him and she's well aware that he could easily outrun her if he really wanted to. He finally slows down to let her catch up, but she's not expecting it and she crashes into him, sending both of them falling to the ground. They both groan, slightly dazed, and she slowly lifts her head from his chest. He sighs. "This is now the second time you've tackled me to the ground," he says. "I didn't know you had it in you."

She shrugs. "What can I say? Ally D's got guns," she says, lifting her arm to flex her biceps. He watches her, an amused look on his face, and she lets out a laugh before she remembers that she's supposed to be pretending to be mad at him.

"Oh! And pickles were not the main reason," she says indignantly, but the effect is a little lost because she's still sprawled on top of him.

"Oh, but they were at least _a_ reason?" he asks as he sits, pulling her up with him.

She's silent, thinking it over.

Then, "Maybe a tiny reason."

* * *

It turns out it's a little to prove their success as a duo then she thought it would be. Their first video on YouTube immediately goes viral and Trish receives about twenty phone calls from record producers the day after it's posted. Within three weeks, they're signed to a new label, working with an executive who understands that Austin wants to evolve into a different kind of artist, _with_ Ally, and sees the potential in them.

They're rerecording all of their songs in a studio a week after that because they've almost written enough for a full album. It's fast tracked to release at the end of the month in order to capitalize on Ally's recent success and the publicity surrounding Austin.

The three weeks they have until their deadline are frenzied and they barely do anything but work on music, eat, and sleep, often forgoing the latter. She's woken up on the couch in the control room in the middle of the night to see Austin still at the soundboard more times than she can count and it's usually her, for a change, pulling him away to sleep or telling him that it sounds good, that he doesn't have to keep re-re-re-recording every single line.

This is one of those nights, 36 hours before they have to be done, and she finds herself being jolted awake by a loud noise. She looks around, confused, to see that they're in the studio and then blinks sleepily at him through the glass, seeing his clenched fist.

"I can't get this to sound like I want it to," he groans.

"Wha—did you seriously just punch the glass?" she asks tiredly. "Are you seriously turning into _that_ guy?"

He looks at her guiltily. "I just kind of maybe…tapped on it with my fist not so gently? I'm sorry for waking you."

She sighs. "Come on, Austin, let's go. We'll try it again tomorrow morning. Your voice is going to be shot if you don't get some rest."

"Let me try it one more time," he pleads.

"No, you're getting obsessed," she says firmly. "I don't really get why but I'm way too tired to talk about it now."

She stands up and opens the door to the recording space. "We're going."

She grasps his wrist firmly and practically has to drag him out to her car. She's kind of afraid she'll fall asleep if she drives so she tosses him the keys and climbs into the passenger seat without waiting for him. She sees him looking between the car and the studio through the side mirror so she opens the door a crack. "Don't even think about it, Austin," she warns. "Get in the car."

She sees his shoulders slump in defeat and then he walks around to the driver's side. He drives to her house because it's closer and they walk into her bedroom and crawl under the covers, fully clothed. She uses her last bit of energy to take his injured hand in hers and kisses his knuckles softly. "Everything sounds incredible, Austin," she whispers. "You can calm down."

"It needs to be perfect," he says in an irritated tone, turning on his side to look at her.

Her eyes soften at the determination evident on his face. "Why?"

"This is the most important thing I've ever done in my life, Ally," he says, pulling his hand away. "It's both of our dreams, both of our careers on the line now."

"One note, or one word in a song isn't going to mean the difference between our failure and success," she says gently.

He flips over onto his back and exhales heavily. "I guess I got a little carried away," he says. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," she says. "I get it."

He doesn't say anything for a few minutes and she looks over to see if he's fallen asleep to see that his eyes are fixated on the ceiling. She scoots closer and puts her hand on his cheek, turning his head toward hers. He looks at her with tired eyes and her heart clenches a little at the expression on his face. "Oh, Austin," she says quietly, and then tilts her head up to kiss him softly. She's not used to being the one comforting him and she's a little out of her element but she goes with her instincts and something tells her this is what he needs from her.

She opens her eyes a little bit to see that his are finally closed and she lightly traces her fingertips over his cheekbones, her own eyelids drifting shut. He's letting her set the pace and she keeps it slow, allowing her hand to travel slowly down his chest. She slips her fingers under his shirt and skims upward, tracing patterns into his stomach, keeping her touch feather light.

He turns on his side and she slides her arm to his back, shifting so she's flush against him. "I love you," she whispers against his lips, the first time she's said it since that one night, and she finally feels him start to relax into her embrace.

He hasn't touched her this entire time but then he finally does, his hand lightly skimming up her side before he wraps his arm around her. He splays his fingers across her shoulder blades and kisses her a little bit harder and all she wants is to sink into him, feel his skin on hers, let him surround her.

She breaks away and sits up slightly and he slowly opens his eyes. "Take off your shirt," she whispers, before he can say anything, and he stares at her for a second before he sits up too and takes it off. She follows soon after, tossing her tank top and bra off the bed, and then she pauses, debating whether or not to take off her jeans but she's in bed and she's uncomfortable so she wiggles out of them, throwing those to the floor, too. She sees him do the same thing and then she slides back under the covers and presses herself to him, her bare chest against his, and his arms immediately wrap around her.

"I thought you were sleepy," he mumbles. "What are we doing?"

"We're sleeping," she assures him. "I think I would pass out if we tried anything else."

"Okay," he whispers, and he shifts so he's on top of her and then he kisses her until she can't tell where she begins and where he ends and she's dizzy from the lack of oxygen and all she can think is _AustinAustinAustin._

* * *

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	13. Every Moment, Every Day Of My Life

Disclaimer: _Austin and Ally _is not mine.

Warnings: M for a reason

A/N: Enjoy.

* * *

He's significantly calmer for the next couple of days but the first time she sees his shoulders relax in what seems like weeks is when they turn in the finished songs. He squeezes her hand and she smiles at him, and then they both laugh a little, finally releasing any remaining tension. It's out of their hands now and they can move on to other things, like photo shoots and interviews and planning for going on tour.

Their album cover won't have their faces on it, they decide. Their sound is simpler now than it was during either of their solo careers so they just title it _Austin & Ally_ and it's uncomplicated and easy but isn't that all the explanation they've ever needed?

They have a week off before they really need to do anything else so he asks her if she wants to get out of LA and she answers yes before he even finishes the question. Not even an hour later their bags are packed and in his car and they're on their way up the coast.

Neither of them have a destination in mind but they've been living in California for years now and have barely ventured outside of the big cities since that's where they've both gone on tour so they decide to just explore. They blast the radio and sing and they're both a little out of tune because they're laughing more than they're singing and she can't remember the last time she's felt this relaxed.

They stop and grab sandwiches from a little coffee shop and then take them to a nearly empty beach where she neatly lays out a blanket and they sit and eat and watch the waves. The sky is cloudy and the water is dark but it's still warm and it's a different kind of beautiful from the sparkling blue water she's used to in LA and Miami.

They sit cross-legged next to each other, knees touching, and talk about everything but their careers and she thinks about how they went from having barely anything in common when they were fifteen to sharing everything at twenty four because they've changed together, grown together.

He leans back on his hands after a while and extends his legs, letting out a breath. She looks at him over her shoulder and gives him a small smile. "This was a good idea," she says and he nods, closing his eyes.

She turns to face the water again and they sit in silence for a few minutes, both of them lost in their own thoughts. She's startled when she feels a drop of water land on her arm and looks back at him to see if he did it but he's in the same position, his eyes still shut. She feels another and frowns and she turns again to see him sitting up. "Hey, I think it's about to rain," he says.

"Yeah, you wanna go back to the car?" she asks and he nods, getting to his feet. He grabs his shoes and hers and she folds the blanket and they don't even take a step before the rain starts falling in sheets, instantly soaking them. She stands there, unmoving, with her mouth open slightly in shock and he starts laughing. That snaps her out of it and she starts running but he drops the shoes and grabs her wrist to pull her back.

"What are you doing?" she shouts over the sound of the rain. "Let's go!"

He pushes his hair out of his eyes and draws her close, wrapping his arms around her waist. She shivers but she's not sure if it's because of the rain or because of him and that's the last thing she thinks before he kisses her. His lips are cold but his mouth is warm and she slides her hands under his arms and wraps her arms around his back. She breaks away after a minute but doesn't pull her head back and they just _breathe_ for a moment, staring at each other.

He speaks first. "Sorry," he says. "I've just always really wanted to do that." He pauses. "And it barely ever rains in LA."

She just smiles in response and he kisses her again, his hands coming up to cup her face. They're both shivering a little but neither of them pull away until they hear the crack of lightning.

"Uh, we should go," she says quickly and he nods in agreement. They gather their things and run back to the car and she somehow manages not to trip on the slippery pavement. They throw everything in the trunk and then quickly climb in, getting water everywhere. He turns on the car and blasts the heat and they both sigh in relief.

"Oh man," he says, pulling at his shirt. "Maybe that wasn't such a good idea."

She laughs as she runs her fingers through her hair. "It was a really bad idea," she says, and then grins. "But it was totally worth it."

He lets out a laugh and then reaches for his phone, which he had thankfully left in the car. "We should probably find a place to stay, right?"

"We didn't really think this spontaneous vacation thing through, did we?"

He smiles and then focuses on his phone to find the nearest hotel and then programs it into the GPS. He hands it to her and she guides him easily and they find themselves in front of a bed and breakfast that looks like it's seen better days. He looks at her questioningly but she just shrugs, wanting nothing more than a towel and a hot shower, so they grab their bags and run inside. She sees that it's old, but well maintained when they get inside, and if the lady at the front desk finds it odd that they're both barefoot, she doesn't say anything.

They rent a room for the night and head up the stairs and she's pleasantly surprised to see that the room is big and clean, the bathroom recently renovated. He sets their suitcases down and turns to face her. "You can shower first, I don't mind."

She opens her mouth to thank him but then she looks at him, really _looks_ at him, and her mouth runs dry. His hair is a mess and dripping water onto his shoulders and his shirt is clinging _everywhere _and he's still barefoot and she can't—

"Ally?" he asks, a concerned look on his face. "You must be freezing, right?"

She snaps out of it when she hears his voice and feels her face heating up but suddenly there's only one thing that she wants right now. "I um…" she trails off and clears her throat. "Umtheshower'sbigenoughforbothofus," she stammers, blushing madly, and then spins around and practically runs into the bathroom without waiting to see his reaction. She turns on the shower so the water will be warm and peels off her shorts and her shirt and is about to take off her bra when she senses him behind her.

She stands there, perfectly still, and then she feels his fingers on her back before they trail up to undo the clasp of her bra. She shrugs it off and lets it fall to the floor and then shuts her eyes and takes a breath before stepping out of her underwear. She holds her breath as his fingers skim the skin of her lower back, slowly heading lower and lower, but then he steps away and she nearly cries out at the loss of contact. She hears the sound of a zipper and then the sound of wet clothes falling to the floor and she feels like she might combust if he doesn't touch her _right now_.

She bites her lip hard, nearly trembling with anticipation, and then finally, _finally_, he puts his hand on her hip and turns her around to face him and she thinks her heart stops when she sees the way he's looking at her. She makes an unintelligible sound in her throat and that's all he needs from her because the next thing she knows he's picking her up and her legs are around his waist and her arms are around his neck and he's stepping them into the shower.

She has a fuzzy second where she thinks this might be really cliché but then he kisses her and she realizes that it's cliché for a reason because it's really, really _hot_. They pull apart when the warm water hits them and his hair is in his eyes again so she pushes it to the side and everything is on pause for a moment as they just look at each other, breathing, until she can't take it anymore.

"Austin," she whispers, and tightens her legs slightly. She sees him swallow and then he moves them so her back is against the cool tile of the shower. His mouth latches around her nipple before she even realizes what's going on and she throws her head back, bumping it painfully on the wall, but she hardly notices because his hand is cupping her other breast, his fingers squeezing gently. He's holding her up easily with only one arm and the realization makes her breath catch a little bit because she always forgets how much bigger he is than her until moments like this.

He grazes her nipple with his teeth before he bites down and she thinks she might be losing her mind. He pulls back after a few seconds, pressing a wet kiss to the newly tender skin, and then brings his mouth to her neck. He kisses her softly, feather light touches against her skin, and she's about to tell him to _hurry up _because she can't take it anymore when he suddenly latches onto her neck and sucks hard. His hand is still toying with her breast, his fingers lightly flicking over her nipple, and she slumps down a little in his arms at the stimulation. But then, then, he brushes his teeth against her skin at the same time he firmly cups her breast and she moans and tilts her head back, causing him to abandon her neck.

"A-Austin," she whimpers, and he raises his head to look at her. "I n-need need you—"

She doesn't even know what she's asking for but knows that she needs _something_ from him and she nearly weeps in relief when a long finger suddenly enters her. She's more aroused than she can ever remember being and two more fingers join the first easily as he shifts her slightly in his arms. He's licking patterns into her neck as his fingers draw in and out and his thumb is circling her roughly and it only takes a minute before she goes boneless in his arms, her body trembling as she loses herself.

She rests her forehead on his shoulder as she catches her breath and his fingers are still lazily moving back and forth as he waits for her to recover. She can already feel another stir of arousal starting but she lifts her head, wanting to reciprocate, and she kisses him deeply, her fingers tangling in his hair. She thinks that she will never get used to this, his touch and the way he feels against her.

She lets herself slide down and he steps back a little so she can stand on slightly wobbly legs. He's so hard it looks almost painful and she's surprised he's managed to keep this much composure for as long as he has. She quickly closes the distance between them, backing him into the wall this time, her breasts pressed against his chest and her hand coming down to reach for him. He inhales sharply when her hand wraps around his length and starts stroking up and down.

She rakes her nails lightly down the length of him and he makes a choked sound in his throat, his hands digging into the wall behind him. She loves this, loves watching him, loves that _she_ can make him feel this way, and it doesn't take long before his eyes shut as he moans loudly, coming undone, and he leans forward a little onto her. They're still for a moment, the water running over them, and then he finally lifts his head to look at her. He looks a little stunned and it takes him a few seconds to focus on her face.

"Bed," she whispers, and she watches as his eyes widen in understanding.

He fumbles behind her to quickly turn off the tap and then he steps out and picks up a towel, wrapping it around her. He takes one for himself and they dry off just enough so they're not soaking wet and then the towels are at their feet as they stumble out of the bathroom.

He can't keep his hands off her as they walk to the bed and heart is pounding in anticipation because they've both been waiting a long time for this. She lets out a breath as her back hits the mattress and then he's on top of her, bending his head down to kiss her and she expects it to be frantic, rushed, like it was in the shower but it's unhurried, his mouth sliding lazily against hers, and she sighs a little at the slow sensuality of it all.

He suddenly lifts his head and looks down at her. "Ally," he says quietly. "Are you on something?"

Her mind is clouded and it takes her a minute to realize that he means birth control but then she nods and pulls him back down.

The pace is a little faster this time and she moans a little into his mouth. He palms her breast and squeezes a little as she closes her eyes and holds her breath as his hand drifts lower. Her skin feels incredibly sensitized and every little touch is driving her insane and she just wants _him_. She moans when he skims over her center lightly, his fingers ghosting over where she needs him most, but then he removes his hand completely and she lets out an involuntary sound of frustration.

"What do you _want_, Ally?" he asks, and his voice is low and rough and she can't even formulate a _thought_ in her head, let alone say it out loud.

She whimpers in response but that's apparently not good enough because he doesn't move. "That's not an answer," he whispers, and she squirms under him. She lifts her hand in an attempt to get some relief herself, but he catches her fingers and holds them, denying her. She swallows. "I...I...ugnh, Austin..." she trails off, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Yeah, Ally?" he prods, although she can hear his voice getting less and less steady as he starts losing control himself. She can hardly believe what he's doing right now but she's never been more aroused in her entire life. "I...I n-need...oh...Austin, _please_," she begs and that's evidently the right answer because he lets go of her hands and rolls them over so they're on their sides, facing one another.

He's pressed completely against her and she can feel him against her stomach and she thinks she might be on fire as she feels his hand, skimming up and down her leg lightly, every touch sending her a little closer to the edge. Suddenly, his fingers wrap around her thigh as he lifts her leg and then he thrusts into her, all of him, all at once, and she_cannotbreathe_. Her head falls back on the bed and she chokes on air as he buries his face in her neck, his breathing as heavy and erratic as her own. He stays still for a few moments as she wraps her arms around him and then he starts to move and she instantly loves this feeling, the feeling of being _filled _by him and she thinks she will never, ever, _ever _tire of this, of him, of them.

She can hear him mumbling her name into her neck like he's chanting, _Ally Ally Ally_, and she feels him feverishly pressing kisses into her skin as she brings her fingers into his still damp hair. She wants to see him, see his eyes, so she tugs lightly so he'll look at her and it takes her a couple of tries before he finally lifts his head. She bites her lip when she sees his face and then he shifts so he's completely on top of her and she hadn't thought it could get better but it does, it does.

Her eyes are locked on his as he somewhat forcefully presses her into the mattress but then he abruptly changes pace, his movements slow and hitting her deep, and her eyelids flutter shut.

"I love you so much, Ally," he says, his voice shaky, and then he reaches his hand down and circles his fingers around and around and she loses it, her mind going blank and her toes curling into the bed as she trembles around him.

His eyes are shut and he's muttering something to himself when she comes back down to reality as he concentrates on holding off longer and she squeezes around him, letting him know that she's okay and ready again and then he suddenly rolls them over, still inside her, so she's on top of him.

She feels his hands on her hips and his eyes are dark and unfocused as he looks at her.

"Move, Ally," he whispers, and she does, hesitantly at first, and then whimpers as he lifts his hips up to meet hers as she brings hers down and they find a rhythm that is solely _theirs_. The sensation is like nothing she's ever felt and he's filling her up, every part of her that's ever been empty, and she can't see, can't feel, can't sense _anything_ but him. He slides his hands up her sides and stops at her breasts, letting his thumbs lazily circle her nipples, and she digs her fingers into his shoulders as she lowers her head to kiss him.

She can tell he's close because his fingers tighten and he breaks away from her to let his head fall back on the bed and she experimentally clenches a little around him and his eyes squeeze shut as he groans.

"Austin, Austin," she mumbles incoherently, burying her face in his neck, about to lose it herself. "I love you _so so _much. P-please, _please_, Austin, please—"

He uses the last of his strength to flip them over so he's on top of her again and the angle is _just right_ as he uses his extra weight to push into her as she bends her knees up on either side of him. His head drops heavily onto her shoulder as his movements and his breathing grow erratic and then he's _gone_, and she follows not even a second later, her back curving and her fingers pressing tightly into his shoulder blades as he loudly moans out her name.

Her world vanishes until all she knows is their connection and she doesn't know if she's floating or dreaming or flying but it doesn't matter because it's _him_ and it's _her _and she's never felt quite so _whole_ in her entire life.

She falls back as her brain and body slowly recover and lets out a sigh as he collapses on top of her. He tries to move off but she holds him tightly against her, loving this feeling of being pressed against him, his skin slick and scorching hot against hers, his heart hammering wildly above her own.

"I'm crushing you," he whispers, his breath on her damp skin making her shiver slightly.

"I don't care," she mumbles back, but he presses his lips to her jaw and then finally pulls out of her, moving so he's not completely on top of her anymore. She makes an involuntary, disappointed sound at the loss of him and he wraps his arm tightly around her waist, drawing her close.

"We should probably shower again," he says after a long minute of silence.

She groans. "I think I would die if we did that again," she says dramatically, letting her forehead fall against his chest.

He laughs and gently pulls at the ends of her hair. "_Only_ shower, Ally. I don't even think _I_ could go another round." He pauses. "Yet."

She smiles. "That was incredible," she says, sighing, her eyelids heavy. "Remind me again why we waited eight years?"

He yawns and runs his fingertips down her back. "I don't know," he says sleepily. "But we're here now."

She tilts her head back so she can look at him and he smiles drowsily at her. She feels her heart skip a beat at the boyish look on his face, his eyes half lidded and his cheeks still a little pink and she is warm and safe and protected and happier than she can ever remember feeling.

"We're here now," she repeats softly as he leans forward slightly to press his lips to the top of her head. "We're here now."

* * *

review please! I love hearing what you all think!

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	14. Then Autumn It Came

Disclaimer: Austin and Ally does not belong to me.

A/N: We're almost to the end! Thank you for all of your amazing reviews!

* * *

"Are you sure you're going to be able to walk in those?" Austin asks, raising his eyebrows.

A week after their mini-vacation, they're at a photo shoot for the cover of a magazine that's doing a profile on them. The concept is a little dramatic, which is why she's wearing the most expensive dress she's ever worn along with the highest heels she's ever worn and currently attempting to trudge through a muddy, grassy field in said heels. Austin is wearing a tuxedo and he looks incredible even standing in knee high grass and under normal circumstances she'd probably tell him that but she's having enough trouble with just walking, let alone talking.

She's about a foot away from him when she slips on a wet patch and her eyes widen as she flails her arms dramatically. His arm wraps around her waist before she can fall and he pulls her toward him so she's flush against his side and he looks down at her, an eyebrow raised.

She blushes. "Apparently not," she says. "Thanks."

"Something tells me my reflexes will improve as a result of dating you," he says dryly. "Do you think you can stand?"

She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, of course I—oof!"

She lets go of him and immediately stumbles but he's there again in a flash and he shoots his arm out, firmly pulling her back towards him with a hand on her stomach. "Ally…"

"I think I'm okay," she says slowly and takes a small, shaky step forward. His hand lingers until he's sure she's got her bearings and then he lets go of her and she manages to stand upright.

"You guys ready?" the photographer calls and they both nod. "Ally, you okay?"

"Uh, yeah," she says sheepishly. "Just don't ask me to move."

He laughs. "I'll make Austin do all the work, okay?"

Austin frowns and she laughs. "Sounds good."

They stand there for what seems like hours until her feet are numb and she starts to get kind of angry because the shoes aren't even visible through the grass. As promised, Austin mostly moves around her so she doesn't have to take too many steps but she has to make a serious effort to make sure that her facial expressions don't make it obvious that she's in pain.

The shots are kind of dreamy, maybe even a little ethereal; nothing like what Austin had ever done before, but it matches their new music and she's happy with the concept. He's not awkward at all and she finds it hard not to stare at him because she hasn't had a lot of chances to watch him like this, in front of a camera. It's a little mesmerizing, the way he moves and the expressions he makes.

"When did you get so good at this?" she whispers, while her make up is touched up.

"Huh?" he asks confusedly. "I just do whatever, I'm not really trying or anything."

She scowls. "I hate you. You look like a freaking model and I'm over here barely even standing upright."

He laughs and takes her hand. "You look beautiful. But your face is telling me that you're being tortured or something. Are those shoes really that bad?"

She raises an eyebrow and lifts her foot so he can see how ridiculously high they are and how ridiculously skinny the heel is. "You want to try?"

His eyes widen and he shakes his head. "Oh man, Ally, I'm sorry."

"You should be, for being so tall," she grumbles, and he opens his mouth to respond but then the photographer calls out to them again.

Thankfully, they only shoot for about ten more minutes and the instant the photographer tells them that they're wrapped she kicks off the shoes and lets her feet sink into the cool grass. She's not sure if she can walk, though, so she just stands there as everyone else leaves while Austin waits by her side.

"You wanna go?" he asks after a minute.

"Yeah," she says. "Let's go."

She tries taking a tentative step forward but immediately winces in pain and squeezes her eyes shut. She hears Austin sigh from behind her and the next thing she knows he's picking her up in his arms.

"You were taking too long," he says in explanation, as she winds her arms around his neck and smiles.

He doesn't say anything else but pulls her a little closer and then he stops walking. She looks at him in confusion because they're in the middle of a field still, but then he lifts her slightly and lowers his head to press his lips to hers. She breathes out through her nose and tightens her arms around his neck and lets her eyes drift shut as he kisses her slowly.

"What was that for?" she asks breathily as they break apart.

"Because we just shot our first of hopefully many magazine covers together," he replies. "And you look _hot_. Even if your feet are killing you. And I've always wanted to kiss you like this."

She rolls her eyes but blushes despite herself. "It is pretty amazing," she says. "And you seem to have a lot of things you've always wanted to do," she says pointedly, remembering their kiss in the pouring rain. "Are you going to clue me in on those or are you going to surprise me every time?"

"Guess," he says, grinning, and then he starts walking again, hitching her up slightly. "You weigh nothing, do you know that?"

"Then carry me around all day," she says without skipping a beat.

He laughs. "Do you remember the first time we went to the Grammys?"

She grins. "Yeah, when they styled me in the worst shoes ever?" She pauses. "After today's, I mean."

"And I had to hold you up for the practically the entire red carpet and everyone asked if we were dating because you were literally wrapped around me," he adds.

She smiles, remembering. "And I couldn't tell anyone it was the shoes because that would have been embarrassing so we just awkwardly avoided all the questions."

"Which made it even worse," he finishes, grinning. "How did either of us ever get a date back then when everyone thought we were together?"

Her grin fades because she remembers _exactly_ why the media stopped speculating about them and he evidently remembers a second later because his face crumples and he stops walking.

_Her_.

"Oh shit, Ally, I—"

"It's okay," she says, interrupting him. "We don't have to think or talk about that ever again."

"I—"

"Really, Austin. It's past us, I promise," she says, trying to sound reassuring. Because it is the past and she hasn't thought about it and it's something she doesn't worry about. Those terrible three months don't define any part of their relationship except to have made it stronger.

Mostly.

He gives her a small smile and steps forward again, and she feels his grip on her tighten a little. She takes a breath and rests her head on his chest and he quietly carries her back to the studio, apparently lost in his thoughts.

When they get there he sets her down so they can both change and after she's ready and her face is scrubbed of all the heavy makeup she'd been wearing she limps unsteadily back out to the lobby where he's waiting for her.

"Still?" he asks, raising an eyebrow when he sees the way she's walking. "Ally, I'm so sorry, you should have said something to them."

She winces as she takes a particularly big step and before she knows it she's in his arms again and she sighs gratefully. "It was our first shoot, you know? I didn't want to make any waves. Thanks, though. You big…manly…man…man," she says, referencing their first date.

He smirks. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," she sighs dreamily, and she can practically feel his ego expanding as he walks them out to his car. "You're just so…strong."

His smirk gets bigger. "Yeah?"

She tilts her head up to whisper in his ear. "Just like when you broke that cinder block with your bare hand." She pauses. "Or was it that the cinder block broke your bare hand?"

He scowls at her and then sets her down gently so she can get in the car. "You would bring up my most embarrassing incident, wouldn't you? And ruin the moment."

She just laughs and climbs into the passenger seat. "That would imply that there was a moment to ruin, Austin," she teases. "And besides, I think that umbrella ripping off your shorts in front of the entire food court was your most embarrassing moment. Or maybe when you wrote that Pioneer Rangers song and performed it on live TV. Or maybe when you tried to pretend you had a drooling problem in front of those kids. Or maybe when—"

"What is this, revisit Austin Moon's worst moments day?" he asks, pouting a little.

"Some of those memories are my favorites," she says, smiling. "It was never dull with you, at least. And it's not like I didn't have my fair share of embarrassing moments. Does the Suzy's Soups incident ring any bells?"

He grins and suddenly, from out of nowhere, it makes her breath catch, how he's all dimples and crinkly eyes and the way his entire face lights up. It's all she can do not to lean over and kiss him even though he's driving and it would be very dangerous and not a very Ally-like thing to do at all and—

"You smelled like wontons for days."

* * *

A couple of weeks later, they're slated to make their first public appearance together at a movie premiere. The world knows they're together, of course, but this is the first time that they're walking a red carpet both as a couple and as…a band? A duo? She's not sure what the label is for their…singing partnership, and she supposes it doesn't really matter. But a red carpet appearance for some reason seems to cement it as…official. Officially.

She's in a gorgeous dress and her stylist has just left so she's waiting for Austin to pick her up. Her heels are a reasonable height this time and she stands at the window watching for the limo, anxiously twisting her bracelets in her hand. She's nervous because she wants this to go well and there's pressure to make a good impression on the media. She's still not that used to being interviewed by herself, let alone being interviewed with Austin, either as his girlfriend or his partner.

She lets out a breath when she sees the limo pull into her driveway and she walks out before he can come to the door.

He steps out and she bites her lip because he's wearing a suit and it's a fairly rare sight and it immediately does twisty things to her stomach.

"You look…incredible," he says, his eyes wide. "Stunning."

She bites her lip and smiles. "You look pretty dapper yourself, Moon."

He grins and steps aside to open the door for her. "You ready for this?" he asks, as he takes a seat next to her.

She fiddles with her jewelry again. "I'm kind of nervous, actually. This is kind of a big deal for us. As a couple and as partners."

He frowns. "Hey, I've done this a million times. And you've watched me do it a million times. We'll be fine, Ally. You just have to relax."

She nods and they fall into a comfortable silence as she presses herself to him so there's no space between them. He lifts his arm to wrap it around her shoulders and she twists a little to rest her hand on his stomach and her cheek on his chest and marvels, not for the first time, how _natural_ this is with him. She feels him press his lips to the top of her head and it's a quiet, lovely moment, one that she will file away forever in the ever-expanding _Austin_ section of her brain.

She takes a deep breath when they arrive and sits up as he does the same and he steps out first, smiling encouragingly at her as he holds out his hand.

She takes his hand and steps out of the car and she's instantly blinded by camera flashes coming from every direction. She's experienced this part of the red carpet before so it takes her only a few minutes to adjust but she's definitely not used to hearing the photographers calling her name as well as Austin's.

She looks up at him to see that he's already looking at her and she smiles, letting him know that she's fine. They walk up the red carpet and stop where they're told so they can pose. He wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her close and it's kind of a surreal experience for her because she guesses that they probably look like the Hollywood couples she sees on magazine racks at the grocery store. Only now it's _them_.

They walk slowly up the red carpet, occasionally talking to old friends they've come to know over the years and she's actually having fun. Her nervousness completely slips away by the time they're halfway down the carpet and she's relaxed even as they do interview after interview.

That is, until she hears a shrill voice calling out Austin's name from behind them. She feels him stiffen next to her and she looks up at him, confused, to see that his face is completely _white_.

"Austin!" she hears again from behind, and then she realizes who it is.

_Her_.

"I'm so sorry, Ally," he mutters, squeezing her hand lightly. She squeezes back and gives him what she hopes is an encouraging smile. Her stomach is in knots and they both take a breath before turning around.

She's all curves and cleavage and collagen and just so _fake_ that Ally can barely even stand to look at her.

"How are you, Austin?" she says silkily, extending a hand to rest it on his arm, but he shifts away before she's able to. Ally watches her eyes flash at his obvious avoidance but she recovers quickly. "And this must be Abby. I remember you, you write all of Austin's songs, don't you?" she asks, her voice cloyingly sweet.

Austin moves slightly so he's standing almost imperceptibly in front of her as if to protect her and she's not quite sure if that annoys her or makes her happy.

"Ally," he says firmly. "It's Ally."

A slow smile spreads across her face. "Of course, how could I have forgotten? She's just the reason you made the biggest mistake of your life by dumping me, right? This talentless little twig has you all wrapped up around her little finger, doesn't she, Austin?"

He turns completely _rigid_ next to her and Ally can feel his hand shaking in hers. "How _fucking_ dare—"

Ally tightly squeezes his hand and steps forward before he can finish because the last thing they need is an ugly public confrontation, and instead smiles at her sweetly. "Talentless? So you listened to enough of it to judge it? How sweet! But I'm actually surprised you even heard about it, because I'm pretty sure it came out while you were…oh where were you, again?" Ally pauses and pretends to think, tapping her finger on her chin, as _she_ glares daggers at her. "Oh wait, I remember," she says pleasantly. "_Rehab_."

Her jaw drops. "You little who—"

She cuts her off. "Enjoy the movie."

With that, she spins around and walks away quickly, dragging Austin behind her. She ignores all the calls for interviews and pictures and doesn't stop until they're inside. She looks around quickly and spots an open doorway to an empty green room they must have set up for the occasion and she pulls him inside and locks the door behind them.

She doesn't know what to say when she looks at him but both of their hands are shaking slightly and her chest feels tight. Suddenly she feels like she's drowning a little as the pain and the memories and the awfulness of those three months flood back into her head and she has to take a deep breath to clear her mind.

She feels her bottom lip start to tremble but before she can think anything or do anything he wraps his arms around her so tightly she can't breathe for a moment. "I'm so, so, so sorry, Ally," he mumbles quietly.

She circles her arms around him. "What are you apologizing for? She came out of nowhere. It's not your fault."

He swallows. "It's my fault that she…exists to us."

She shakes her head. "No, it's not. And I told you, I don't think about her. I don't see that time when I look at you. Ever. You're not anything like you were for those three months. And it was only three months. And you came back, okay? And we're better than ever. There's nothing to apologize for."

"Then why'd you look like you were about to cry?"

She lets out a short laugh. "Because that really sucked, Austin. But I'm okay now."

He drops his forehead to her shoulder. "Love you," he whispers, and she tightens her arms around him. "So much, Ally."

"Pretty sure it's Abby now," she says jokingly, but he just buries his face further into her neck. "Too soon?" she asks.

"That'll never, ever be funny," he says, his voice muffled.

"It'll be funny one day," she replies, and then brings her hands to his face and forces him to lift his head so she can look at him. His eyes are dark and just _sad_ and she cups his cheeks and stands on her tiptoes to kiss him softly. "I love you," she whispers against his lips.

He kisses her softly once more and she smiles up at him when he pulls back.

He grins. "You know, you were amazing."

She shrugs nonchalantly. "What can I say? Abby D's pretty kickass."

* * *

I kind of wanted a conflict this time that wasn't Austin vs. Ally but Austin and Ally vs. someone else. And someone coughNadacough indicated in a review that I should bring _her _back which I hadn't initially thought of doing but it was such a good idea that I had to. So I hope you enjoyed this! The next chapter will be the last, which is bittersweet, but I've been planning the ending since I started writing this story in February so I'm excited to write it. Thank you for sticking with me. I love you all and thank you so much for all of your reviews and favorites and follows.


	15. I Think About You

Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally.

A/N: SO sorry that it's taken me this long to update. Real life and writer's block got in the way but I hope you guys enjoy the final chapter. I can't believe it's all over, but I'm looking forward to writing a few more stories. Thank you so much to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, followed, talked to me on Twitter, messaged me, everything. I really enjoy receiving your feedback and I really hope this story made you happy.

* * *

They're about to leave on tour in exactly two weeks. And she's surprisingly very calm. Maybe it's because they'll be singing the best songs they've ever written, or maybe it's because they're getting a _really_ fancy bus, or maybe it's because this, _this_, performing by his side on stage, is all she's ever really wanted.

And it's finally happening.

She's headed to his house for dinner right now because he's decided that he wants to cook for her. She's wary but decides to give him the benefit of the doubt although she's already added multiple take out places to her contact list.

Just in case.

She knocks and waits for a minute but he doesn't answer. She frowns and waits a few more seconds before she tries again and then he's there and opens the door.

"Sorry," he says, and he sounds a little flustered. "I was watching the stove."

She smiles. "No problem," she says, walking through the door. "It smells good, whatever it is you're doing."

She follows him into the kitchen. "Prepare to be amazed," he says, gesturing to the kitchen table, which is set with a cloth tablecloth and wine glasses.

She smiles as she sits down at the bar counter to watch him cook. "Wow, Austin, what's all this for?"

"Do I need a reason?" he answers from his place at the stove as he stirs something with a wooden spoon.

She grins. "You don't need to try to impress me," she says. "I already knew what I was getting myself into."

He turns his head and smiles crookedly at her. "But are you impressed?"

"Depends on how it tastes," she says airily. "How much longer? I'm starving."

"Two minutes," he says. "Wanna open the wine?"

"Sure. Where is it?"

"Fridge, right in front."

She hops down from the barstool and gets the wine out, managing to open it without making too much of a mess. She pours it into the glasses at the table and then he walks over, carrying a big platter.

"Spaghetti a la Moon," he says dramatically, setting it down in front of her before turning around and walking back into the kitchen.

She laughs. "All this for spaghetti, Austin?"

"Garlic bread too," he calls. "And wine, don't forget the wine. It's expensive, Ally."

He walks back in carrying the bread and then sits down across from her. "Two weeks until tour," he says.

She nods. "You nervous?"

"A little. Is that weird? I've never gotten nervous before going on tour before."

"And I'm _not_ nervous at all. That's definitely weird."

"We're a perfect match," he says softly, locking eyes with hers as he lifts his glass to toast. She gives him a small smile and she clinks her glass with his as she imagines the fifteen-year-old version of Austin Moon saying those same words to her all those years and years ago.

They both take a sip and then they dig in, and she's very pleasantly surprised. "This is amazing, Austin! I'm definitely impressed."

He grins and bites his lip. "Thanks. My mom gave me the recipe. And she might have walked me through it over the phone. But I definitely made it myself."

She shrugs. "It's delicious. But why were you so insistent on making dinner for me?"

"I'll tell you when we're done eating," he says, giving her a small smile.

She frowns suspiciously at him but decides not to push it and instead they talk about the cities they're going to and decide on the final set list for the tour.

He leans back in his chair when he finishes, exhaling loudly. "I'm so full," he says. "But I have dessert."

"Bring it on," she says. "I can't wait to see what else you made."

He goes into the kitchen and comes back a few seconds later carrying two bowls. "Brownies. And ice cream?"

"Did you make the brownies?"

He nods proudly. "From scratch, too."

"I actually like brownies from the box," she says sheepishly. "But these look amazing."

He rolls his eyes. "You would. But here," he says, handing her a bowl. "Let's go into the living room."

"Okay," she says, a little confused, but takes it from him and follows him in.

They sit down on the couch and she curls her legs up under her and leans into his side. They eat slowly and silently and he sets his bowl down on the coffee table as she leans forward to do the same. He wraps an arm around her and she turns her head and pulls back a little to look up at him. He looks anxious, kind of tense, as he looks back down at her, and she's confused.

"What's the matter, Austin?" she asks. "You look…worried or something."

"I um…um…willyoumoveinwithme?" he says so quickly that she barely catches the words, and then he looks away, his cheeks pink.

She can't keep the grin from spreading across her face and when he finally chances a glance at her she throws her arms around him. "Why were you so nervous to ask me?" she asks softly, as he pulls her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Is that was making dinner was all about?"

"Is this a yes?" he asks.

She rolls her eyes at him. "Yes, you idiot," she says.

"I kinda wanted to show you I wouldn't be _totally_ useless if we lived together," he says, pulling her closer. "But really, you will?"

"Of course," she says, and leans forward to kiss him. "But I don't want to move in here," she says, when she pulls back.

"Huh? My place is bigger though, and I thought you liked it," he asks, confused. "You want me to move in with you?"

"No," she says. "I want us to find a new place. That's ours, you know? Not mine and not yours. But we should wait until after we get back from tour. That'll give us time to sell."

"But stay with me until we leave," he mumbles, turning his face into her neck.

"Can't get enough of ol' Ally D, can you?" she teases.

"Never," he says quietly, and she feels her heart skip what feels like a dozen beats.

That's totally normal, right?

* * *

They're on their third day of living together when she decides that enough is enough.

"If I see you put _one_ more dish in the sink without unloading the dishwasher first, I will _kill_ you," she seethes, stalking into the kitchen after him.

He pauses with his hand in mid air, about to put another dirty plate in the half-full sink, and he turns his head to look at her guiltily. "Um…"

"Do. Not. Even. Think. About. It."

"But Ally," he whines. "The game's about to start again."

"Does it look like I care?" she asks, scowling, and places her hands on her hips, a horribly girly pose that she had never quite grown out of.

He tries staring her down for a few seconds before realizing that he's already lost the battle and reluctantly begins unloading the dishwasher, clattering the dishes around loudly as he puts them away, grumbling under his breath.

"Really?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. "Are you twelve?"

"How would you know? We weren't even friends when I was twelve," he says smartly.

"I'm going to take that as a yes," she says, sighing. "Look, this is important, Austin. If we're not good at living together, we're not going to be good at being together and—"

"What, you're going to leave me over a dirty sink?" he interrupts, glaring as he puts the last fork away.

"Don't be a jackass, Austin, I'm just—"

He kicks the dishwasher door up with his foot and moves to stand in front of her, his eyes narrowed. "You've only lived here for three days and you want me to change everyth—"

"No!" she yells. "No, I don't want you to change everything," she says, her voice calmer. "I'm just asking you to _try _changing a few things. I know it'll take time to get used to each other in this new way. But these little things could make us or break us. And if we don't figure this out now, what are we supposed to do when uh, um…" she trails off, blushing.

His eyes soften. "When I marry you, you mean?" he says quietly, taking her hand.

She opens her mouth to say something but he just tugs her closer and bends his head to kiss her.

When they pull apart she can feel her lungs _expandcontractexpandcontract _but she's completely breathless because she can suddenly see their past, their present, their _future_, reflected in his eyes.

She swallows. "I didn't mean to imply, um, I mean, marriage isn't something I was thinking about right now and I don't want to—"

"Don't do that," he says, giving her a small smile.

She looks at him, confused.

"I've known since our first date," he says without any hesitation, and she's pretty sure her heart just stopped beating. He pauses. "Actually, if I'm being honest with myself, it's been since way before that."

"How are you always so _sure_?" she whispers, when she finally finds her voice. "About us, about our music, about everything?"

"Because it's you," he says as if the answer is obvious. "You're it. You've always been it. What do I have to be unsure about?"

She's a writer, first and foremost, and she considers herself to be really good with words but she can't think of _any_ right now so she just steps forward and wraps her arms around him. He seems a little surprised but then he hesitantly circles his arms around her and rests his chin on top of her head. "Are you okay, Ally?" he whispers. "I didn't mean to freak you out or anything, talking about the future like that, I just…"

She just nods against his chest. It catches her off guard sometimes, the easy way he loves her, like it's the most natural thing in the entire world. And it's natural to her too, but she's always been a little more cautious than him and it still takes her aback sometimes, how simple it is for him to love her and to express his love for her.

"Austin?" she says softly after a minute of silence. She doesn't think she can let go of him quite yet so she just tilts her head back slightly to look up at him. "I don't exactly know how you found me. But I hope you know that I will never lose you."

His eyes widen just a bit and she sees him swallow. "You wouldn't be able to even if you tried," he says, and his voice is a little shaky.

She leans forward again and this time she can hear his heartbeat, even and constant beneath her cheek as she closes her eyes. He presses his lips to the top of her head as he wraps her up more tightly in his arms.

"You know, I'm really glad I didn't listen to Dez when he said he wanted fries instead of corn dogs that day."

* * *

Ally decides four days before they leave for tour that she wants to write a new song. A song that's just for performing live, something that will probably never be recorded in a studio. It's something she's writing for him, something she wants to surprise him with on the first night, and she's already made arrangements with their tour manager to add it to the set list. She just has to write it. She's already got the verses completed but she's stuck on the rest so she wanders out of Austin's practice room into the living room where he's taking a nap on the couch.

She's discovered a few things about him since they've started living together. He really, really likes taking naps, for example. He's kind of bad at remembering to close the bathroom door when he's…using it. And he eats pancakes a _lot_ more often than she initially thought.

And he's been learning a bunch of things about her, too. Like how she can rarely ever take naps, despite how late they've been up the night before. Or how she's a neat freak about everything except the bathroom counter, which is always a mess of makeup and hair products. And how she sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night craving pickles but she's too warm and wrapped up under the covers to do anything about it so he has to go get them for her.

(She's guessing that one's not his favorite.)

She walks quietly into the room and looks at him for just a moment. He's not wearing a shirt and a blanket is covering him just up to his waist. She had reluctantly gone to the beach with him a couple of days ago at his insistence but she can't say she regrets it now as she looks at his skin, golden and glowing in the sunlight coming in through the open windows. She feels a little odd staring at him so she blinks to clear her head and then kneels down next to him.

"Austin?" she whispers. He's been sleeping for almost two hours so she doesn't really feel bad about waking him up.

He doesn't move a muscle.

"Austin," she says a little more loudly. "Wake up."

He mumbles something and turns on his side. She rolls her eyes and shakes his shoulder so he'll turn around. "I know you can hear me," she says.

He grudgingly rolls over onto his back and opens his eyes, blinking sleepily up at her. "What?"

She bites her lip. "Come on, you've been sleeping forever, let's go do something."

He groans. "But we leave in four days."

She leans in a little closer. "And we'll be stuck in a bus or too tired to do anything but sleep. Come on, please?"

He rubs his face with his hands as he sits up and grumbles a reluctant "fine" so she assumes he's going to get up. But instead he grabs her wrist as she starts to stand and pulls her down. She lands in his lap and he quickly circles his arms around her waist so she can't escape.

"What—"

"Can you ever just sit still for a minute?" he whispers. "Does your brain ever shut off?"

"Someti—well, no, not really," she says sheepishly. "Someone has to think for the both of us," she teases.

"Yeah?" he asks. He lets his hands slide under the hem of her dress and rubs her thighs gently with his fingertips and her eyelids flutter shut. "So what are you thinking now?" he asks, his lips close to her ear.

She shivers. "I um…um…I oh, do you want to um…" she trails off as he gently nibbles her earlobe and gasps when he tugs lightly with his teeth. She swallows. "Um…we should go…um…do something?" she asks weakly.

"Then let's go do something," he says, much to her surprise, and drops his hands.

Her eyes fly open and she stares at him in disbelief but he just looks back at her with an innocent expression on his face.

"I…you…ugh!" she says exasperatedly. She climbs off his lap and stalks away from the room, her cheeks warm and flushed.

She can hear him laughing behind her and he follows her into the practice room a minute later grinning, still shirtless.

She sits at the piano and turns away from him indignantly, pretending to focus intently on her songbook. He sits down next to her and she glares at him icily before turning away again and scooting farther away from him.

"You suck," she says after a minute, pouting a little.

She sees his grin widen out of the corner of her eye.

"Are you working on a new song?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. "You know we've already finalized the set list, right?"

She quickly slams the book shut. "It's nothing," she says nervously. "Just random ideas I'm trying to get out."

He frowns a little but doesn't say anything else. "Okay," he sighs. "So I should get dressed, right?"

She turns her head and immediately fails miserably when she attempts not to stare at his chest. She can practically feel his smirk so she forces her eyes up to his.

His smirk slowly fades and she keeps her eyes on his as she slowly sets down her songbook on top of the piano. He doesn't move but watches her intently as she slides closer to him and lifts her head so their faces are inches apart. They stare at each other for a moment silently, challenging each other to make the first move, but then he suddenly lifts his hand to tangle it in her hair and leans forward and kisses her. She breathes out through her nose and wraps her arms around his neck and he tugs her closer with his other arm.

He tilts his head back after a minute and leans his forehead against hers. "Do you still want to do something?" he mumbles, and she flushes.

"I think we were doing something," she whispers back, only slightly shy, and then she kisses him again before she can see the expression on his face. He lowers his hands to the hem of her dress and pulls upward as she runs her fingers down his back. She leans away from him again and lifts her arms so he can pull it off and then she feels his fingertips dragging slowly up her sides.

She kisses him again and sighs a little when she feels his hands trail up to the clasp on her bra and he struggles for a brief second before undoing it. She leans back and lets it fall to the floor and even though it's nothing new, him seeing her bare skin, the look in his eyes hasn't changed and her breath still catches like the very first time. He slowly lowers his hands until he reaches the waistband of her underwear and she lifts her hips so he can pull them off, shivering a little as his fingers trail down her legs.

They're still on the piano bench sitting side by side and it's starting to get uncomfortable so he swings one leg over so he's straddling it and then he pulls her toward him so she's seated on his lap, her legs on either side of his waist and her arms wrapped around his neck. She inhales sharply when she feels hardness underneath her through his boxers and she can't help but grind her hips down a little. He lets out a breath at the friction and tilts his head up to her neck.

"Ally," he mumbles. "Hold on."

She's extremely confused for a second but then he starts to stand up and she scrambles to hold onto him. He maneuvers around the bench, his hands firmly gripping her backside, and then he sets her down on top of the piano.

She was expecting him to carry her to the bedroom but it doesn't look like he's planning on doing that anytime soon as he lets go of her to tug his boxers off. And then he's standing between her legs, his face level with hers, his hands lightly rubbing her upper thighs, and she takes in a deep breath.

"Are we really…on the _piano_?" she breathes out. "But—"

He cuts her off by kissing her deeply, lifting one hand to cup the back of her head, and she just kind of forgets where she is because all she can focus on is him. It's maybe a little scary sometimes; the ease with which she can lose herself in him, like he's the only thing she knows and will ever need to know.

She makes an involuntary sound when his hands travel to her breasts and he circles his thumbs around her nipples before pinching lightly. She gasps into his mouth when he does it and he breaks away to press his lips to her jaw, slowly moving down her neck.

"Should we move?" he mumbles, before biting down lightly on the juncture of her neck and her shoulder. She forces in a breath as he soothes the area with his tongue and tightens her legs around his waist.

"N-no," she answers, closing her eyes. He lowers his head to her breasts and presses a soft kiss to each of her nipples before taking one in his mouth and sucking hard. She lets her head fall back when he hums around the tender skin and she bites her lip painfully to hold back a moan.

"I wanna hear you," he says, his mouth still around her breast, and then he suddenly skims his fingers over her center. It's not enough, it's not nearly _enough_, but she immediately groans so loudly she swears she hears an echo.

"That's better," he whispers, bringing his head up to kiss her again, and then slowly strokes his fingers back and forth so lightly she briefly thinks about shoving him away to take care of it herself.

"Austin," she whimpers, pushing him away slightly. "Come on."

"Hmm?" He starts kissing her shoulder, his fingers still barely touching her. "What is it, Ally?"

"Are you being serious right now?" she complains, trying to shift closer to his hand, but he just pulls back every time she does it. "I—" she cuts herself off with a loud moan when he abruptly inserts two long fingers into her, his thumb pressing firmly against her most sensitive spot.

He lifts his head to look at her, his fingers perfectly still. "Is this what you wanted?" he says, his voice a little unsteady.

She widens her eyes incredulously. "Move, _please_, Austin," she whines, and then he does, this fingers relentlessly pushing in and out, his thumb circling roughly. She's dangerously close when he lowers his head to run his tongue along her collarbone and she digs her heels into his lower back so hard she knows she's probably hurting him but he doesn't say anything.

She's almost there, _almost_ there when he suddenly removes his hand. She whimpers. "Sorry, I'm sorry, Ally," he whispers, but really, he has absolutely nothing to apologize for because he ducks his head down and then his mouth is where she needs him. His tongue is rough and demanding and all she can do is say his name over and over and over again, _Austin Austin Austin_. He sucks hard on the tiny bundle of nerves and she lets her head fall back as she moans incoherently. When she feels his teeth graze the area before his tongue pushes into her, she's completely _gone_, her vision going white. He grips her hips tightly as she loses it, keeping his mouth on her while she rides it out. He presses a kiss to her inner thigh when she finally stops trembling, and then he stands up again as she looks at him with half lidded eyes.

He licks his lips and stares at her as she slowly sits up a little. "I won't ever be able to look at the piano the same way," she says weakly.

He smirks. "That was kind of the point."

She shivers a little at the look in his eyes and she reaches out to wrap her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist. He holds her tightly and lifts her up from the piano as she turns her face into his neck and slides her hands into his hair. She can feel stirrings of arousal forming again as he carries her out of the practice room and she marvels at his self-control. "How have you not completely lost it?" she mumbles, pressing her lips to his collarbone.

He lets out a shaky breath. "What makes you think I'm not about to?" he answers, quickening his pace toward the bedroom. He practically drops her on the bed when he reaches it and she can barely even let out a surprised breath before he positions himself above her. He grasps his length in his hand and a second later she feels just the tip of him enter her. His eyes are closed and his jaw is clenched as he tries to compose himself but she doesn't want him to, she wants to see him _really_ lose control for once because he always, _always _puts her satisfaction before his own. So she wraps her arms around him and pulls him down as she shifts her hips forward so he's completely buried inside her.

She chokes out his name as he groans loudly. "I don't...I don't...Austin, just...stop _holding back_," she mumbles almost incoherently, letting her head fall back on the mattress.

And he doesn't. The next thing she knows he's pulling out of her again and she makes a sound of protest but then his mouth is by her ear. "Turn over. Hands and knees," he says, and his voice is low and rough and deep and she's never heard anything like it.

She swallows at the tone of his voice and does what he says. She's shaking a little in anticipation and she feels his hands on her hips for a second before he thrusts into her from behind. He's completely inside her in one stroke and she cries out, her arms shaking and her head dropping forward. He slams into her over and over and over again and he's gripping her hips with almost bruising force and she can feel his pelvic bones against her backside and the angle is just so _good_. She has no idea how she manages to stay on her knees because every part of her feels like it's about to collapse but then he slows his pace and leans forward to cup her breast in one hand as the other circles her center slowly. He tugs on her nipple and flicks his fingers and he's saying her name and it's like he's absolutely _everywhere_.

When he pulls out completely a few seconds later she lets out a _sob_ and she feels like she's about to cry until she feels him wrap an arm around her. He flips her over onto her back and then he's inside her again and his body is flush against hers, his chest pressed to hers, and this is her favorite, her absolute _favorite_ because it feels like he's completely surrounding her. She cups his cheeks in her hands and kisses him and then he goes over the edge, groaning her name. She follows just a few seconds later and he lies there on top of her, both of them panting.

She sighs contentedly when she recovers, letting her body relax underneath his. They lie there for a moment as they both catch their breath and then he presses his lips to her cheek as he pulls out of her. He doesn't try to move off of her, knowing by now that she loves this, loves this feeling of his body completely enveloping her own. He buries his face in her neck and she wraps her arms around him. He mumbles something.

"What?" she asks.

He turns his head slightly. "If that's your idea of doing something, I'm never taking a nap ever again."

* * *

"Do you remember the last time we were here?" he asks.

They're standing offstage, watching their opening act perform. They're in Miami, of all places, to kick off the start of their tour, at the same venue that had brought them together all those months and months ago.

"How could I ever forget?" she answers, tilting her head up to look at him. His eyes are still on the stage but he takes her hand and squeezes lightly. She turns her eyes back to the performance and they're silent for a minute, as she thinks about that night.

She had been nearly paralyzed with fear at the prospect of going on stage with him. But she had done it, she had finally _done _it, and she wouldn't have known it at that point, but that one decision had changed _everything_.

It's fitting, she thinks, that they're starting off here. Because they've been circling each other their entire lives, always together but never really _together_, but now, they've completed that circle both professionally and personally. And neither of them would have been ready if it had happened any earlier, she realizes. At least she wouldn't have been. It had taken a long, long time for her to overcome her biggest fear and it was only after that had happened that she felt like she was finally ready to be with him.

It was never about being good enough for Austin, though. It's about being good enough for herself, being completely happy with who she is, and being completely happy with who they are, together. She'd been _happy_, sure, as Austin's songwriter, but that feeling was nothing compared to how she felt now, being his partner on stage. Their music is really _their _music now, written _and_ performed by Austin Moon and Ally Dawson.

"Are you okay?" he asks quietly, because she's been staring blankly at the stage for a few minutes now.

She blinks a few times. "Yeah," she says. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

She smiles and looks up at him. "You," she says.

* * *

Their set goes amazingly well, for it being the first show of the tour. There's a problem with the lighting for two songs where she's completely blinded, but other than that, neither of them forget any lyrics, their voices are on point, and she manages not to trip even once.

He hugs her as soon as they get off stage, picking her up and spinning her around, and she laughs. "That was incredible, Ally," he says, when he puts her down. "Did you _hear_ the audience?"

She nods and then grins, biting her lip. "I have a surprise for you," she says.

He raises an eyebrow and smirks. "Here, Ally? But we're in publ—"

"Oh, shut up and get on stage," she says, rolling her eyes.

"On _stage_?" he says, a shocked expression on his face. "I never knew you—"

She sighs and drags him out by his arm and the crowd goes _insane_ as soon as they appear. "Go stand over there," she says, pointing to the other side, and he winks at her before he follows her instructions.

She walks to the microphone stand and lifts it up. "So some of you might know that Austin and I are dating," she says.

"And he's kind of maybe the best thing that ever happened to me, so I wrote a song for him. Kind of about…everything. Do you guys want to hear it?" The audience cheers wildly and she grins.

She turns to look at him before she starts and he's staring back at her with solemn eyes, full of an emotion she can't quite put words to, but she feels warmth spread through her entire body.

_Last summer we met, we started as friends  
I can't tell you how it all happened  
Then autumn it came, we were never the same  
Those nights everything felt like magic_

She takes a step closer to him and she watches him swallow.

_And I wonder if you miss me too  
If you don't, it's the one thing that I wish you knew_

_I think about you, every morning when I open my eyes  
I think about you, every evening when I turn out the lights  
I think about you, every moment, every day of my life  
You're on my mind, all the time, it's true_

_I think about you, you, you, you, you  
I think about you, you, you, you, you_

She can't look away from him. She completely forgets that they're on stage, that they're not alone, that there are thousands of people watching them.

_Would you know what to say, if I saw you today  
Would you let it all crumble to pieces?  
Cause I know that I should forget you if I could  
I can't yet, for so many reasons_

_I think about you, every morning when I open my eyes  
I think about you, every evening when I turn out the lights  
I think about you, every moment, every day of my life  
You're on my mind, all the time, it's true_

_I think about you, you, you, you, you  
I think about you, you, you, you, you_

She smiles at him and opens her mouth to start the bridge but he suddenly produces a microphone out of nowhere and beats her to it, and her jaw drops.

_How long 'till I stop pretending  
What we have is never ending  
If all we are is just a moment, don't forget me 'cause I won't and  
I can't help myself_

He smiles and walks forward and takes her hand in his and she looks up at him in disbelief.

_I think about you  
I think about you_

It's her turn to swallow as he looks down at her, and she feels like her heart is about to beat out of her chest.

_I think about you, every morning when I open my eyes  
I think about you, every evening when I turn out the lights  
I think about you, every moment, every day of my life  
You're on my mind, all the time, it's true_

_I think about you, you, you, you, you_

Her voice joins his for the last line and it's quiet and beautiful and _perfect_.

_I think about you, you, you, you, you_

The crowd _erupts_ but he doesn't take his eyes off of her even as she jumps a little at the sound and turns her head to face the audience. "Thank you so much, Miami," she manages to say, and then he squeezes her hand and they walk off the stage.

As soon as they're out of the view of the audience, she whirls around to face him. "What was that?" she asks, still completely in shock.

He grins sheepishly. "I…might have touched your book," he admits.

He pauses. "Are you mad?" he asks hesitantly, when she doesn't reply right away.

"You just serenaded me," she says a little dazedly, because she can't wrap her mind around it quite yet.

"You just serenaded _me_," he replies.

"And you touched my book!" she says accusingly, pointing at him.

He cringes. "Are you really mad?"

"Mad?" she asks loudly, and then drops her voice when a few people whip their heads around to look at her. "Am I mad?" she asks, more quietly. "Am I mad that you touched my book even though I've been telling you for _years_ not to and that you went and sang _me_ a song I wrote for _you_ and that you told me you wanted to marry me and that you're in love with me and that we're buying a house together and that—"

"So…yes?" he interrupts, raising his eyebrows.

She tries not to laugh but completely fails and he grins at her. When she finally stops, his eyes are telling her _everything_, and her own eyes are wide as she looks back up at him.

"Maybe it's _our_ book now," she whispers.

And when he kisses her, she knows that their circle will never really end.

Maybe they're more like a line, anyway, if she remembers her geometry correctly.

Never ending.

* * *

Reviews make me super happy so tell me your favorite part of the story, or your favorite line, or your least favorites, anything. I just like seeing what you guys think.

Thank you all so much again!


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